


Safe Haven

by Nadollar25



Series: Safe Haven Series [1]
Category: American Actor RPF, Chris Evans (Actor) RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Jealousy, Karaoke, Loss of a sibling, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF - Freeform, Mild Smut, Reference to cancer, Starts out slow but gets more exciting, beer pong, bowling, new relationships, references to Ed Sheeran and Jason Mraz songs, selfie sticks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-08-29 23:41:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 54
Words: 51,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8510242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadollar25/pseuds/Nadollar25
Summary: Samantha is an artist, bartender, and new staff member at Christopher's Haven. Her best friend, Scott, is determined to fix her up with his older brother, Chris.





	1. Starting Out

“Hi, this is Samantha Roberts calling with Christopher’s Haven.”  
    Sam wedged the phone between her ear and shoulder while she grabbed her nearby day planner to confirm her reason for calling. Sam made calls like these on a regular basis. She had been working at Christopher’s Haven for the past 11 months as the Receptionist and, most recently, the Assistant to the Activities Coordinator. Christopher’s Haven, located in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization with a mission to operate a supportive community consisting of seven temporary apartments and a community recreation area (known as “The Loft”) for families of children being treated for cancer in nearby Boston hospitals.  The Loft was the hangout zone for anyone staying with at Christopher’s Haven. It was utilized to provide programming for children undergoing outpatient treatment, as well as their siblings and parents.  
    Sam simultaneously brought up a blank document on her computer to type notes of this conversation. Sam smiled as the man on the other end of the phone replied sounding relieved.  “I was calling to confirm your check-in this coming Tuesday the 21st. We can’t wait to meet Jacob!” Sam pushed the phone up on her shoulder as she adjusted to be able to type on the computer. “Could you tell me a little about Jacob’s current interests? I want to make sure he feels comfortable once he arrives.” She listened thoughtfully while she typed in “Jacob S. Likes: Comic Books, Skateboarding, Racing Video games. Dislikes: Reading, Broccoli, Country Music”  
    Sam recently took over a majority of the scheduling of different activities for all of the families staying with the organization. She worked with volunteers to coordinate different activities for the residents, including massage therapy, pet therapy, arts & crafts, movie nights, birthday and holiday parties, bell-ringing ceremonies, outings to sporting events and excursions to local attractions.  
    This new role constantly kept her busy, which was something she had desperately been seeking prior to landing this position. Painting during the day as a freelance artist and tending bar at a local hole-in-the-wall had been enough to cover her basic expenses. However, Sam knew she needed to find something more permanent and fulfilling.  Her friend, Scott, had recommended that she throw her hat in the ring so to speak for the position.  
*****  
    “Are you sure they’d even consider hiring me?” Sam asked him one night while she was bar tending. Grabbing a rag, she wiped the counter down with a frown as Scott finished long swig of his Bud Light Lime. “I mean, this is the extent of my customer service experience.”  
    Scott gave her a scoff. “Sam, you are one of the most welcoming people I know. You would be a perfect match for the mission!”  
    Sam felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She had been friends with Scott for 3 years now, ever since he started coming to the bar. She considered him to be one of her closest friends. Not a day went by that they did not call or text each other.  
    “I just want to be sure I’m hired because they want me for the job, not just because I’m friends with you.”  
    He chuckled and smiled brightly. “I promise, sweetheart, they are going to love you!”  
    The following week, Sam received a call from Christopher’s Haven and set up an interview with the director. She made a mental note to cover Scott’s tab the next time he came into the bar.  
    When Sam came in for the interview, she immediately knew this was where she needed to be. The building itself was clean and did not feel like a sterile hospital-like environment. Kids were running around the halls, music was floating around her, and there were framed pictures of various Boston-related photos up on the walls.  
    The interview itself consisted of a one-on-one conversation with the director in her office. Joyce, an older woman with kind eyes and a strong handshake, met her in the lobby and led her back to her office. She asked Sam a few of the typical questions one gets asked in an interview, such as how much experience she had and what she would do in different difficult scenarios. Sam answered as honestly as she could, even though she thought her lack of experience would work against her.  
    Joyce held the application and resume in her hands as Sam sat across from her in a comfortable arm chair. She looked between both of the pieces of paper, then placed them on the desk in front of her.  
    “You know, Scott Evans spoke very highly of you.”  
    Sam smiled. “Best friends tend to do that.” She felt a little nervous, took a breath, and continued. “I really hope that you will hire me based on my willingness to be a hard worker and a good fit for the organization. I’d like to be hired for my merit over my social reputation.”  
    Joyce looked at Sam. She had a tight-lipped smile cross over her lips as she paused before speaking.  
    “Samantha, tell me why you would be a good fit for our organization.”  
    Sam had both hoped for and dreaded this question. She knew she had to be honest and put it all out on the table if it were her only chance at landing this job.  
    “My older brother had cancer when I was growing up. One morning during his baseball game, he collided with another player and ended up breaking some bones. We headed to the hospital and had to get x-rays, and everything changed.” Sam paused as she continued to gather her thoughts. Joyce continued to study her as though she was contemplating asking her to explain more. “I remember the numerous visits to different hospitals and basically living in hotels in different cities. I always felt like my family was out of place because we did not really know anybody. And I, not being sick, was forced to tag along to everything. I always felt like I was an outsider. Everything was very sterile and never really felt like living. I mean, it felt like second nature and we were in hospitals so often I began to remember their menu choices.” Sam tucked some of her long brown hair behind her ear, taking a calming breath before continuing. “If a place like Christopher’s Haven had been around when my brother was being treated, I feel like it would have taken one stressor off of my parents. A way for my brother to heal while we played instead of discussing blood transfusions and nausea. I love the idea of an organization that caters to children, both those who are sick as well as their siblings who often get forgotten about.” She blinked away tears as she made eye contact with Joyce.  
    The director gave her a pained smile. “I’m sorry that this organization wasn’t around when you needed it.”  
    Sam forced a smile. “The important thing is, it’s here now. And after seeing the hallways when I came in, many children and families are benefitting. You provide families with a place to be together and create a sense of community.”  
    Joyce nodded in agreement. She looked down at the papers again and let out a slow breath. “Well…normally at this point I would thank you for coming in and ask that you be patient as we decide whether or not to hire you.”  
    Sam’s heart jumped up into her throat. She swallowed hard, attempting to put it back where it belonged. She tried not to show any emotion, since she didn’t know which way this interview was going. The director had been difficult to read, but Sam knew she had answered as best as she could.  
    Joyce shuffled the papers into a stack in front of her. She clasped her hands together and smiled at Sam.  
    “When can you start?”


	2. The Set-Up

“Hello there! You must be Jacob!” Sam smiled at the 9 year old boy who arrived with a large suitcase, carrying a skateboard.  
    The blonde-haired boy gave her a timid smile and nodded. His parents were on either side of him. Sam shook both of their hands as she introduced herself to the family.  
    “Oh yes!” Jacob’s father exclaimed, “You were the sweet girl on the phone who confirmed our reservation last week.”  
    Sam nodded. “Yes, sir. I work at the front desk and I’m one of the activity coordinators, so you will be seeing me around often.” She turned back to Jacob, who was looking around at the different kids who were walking through the halls towards their rooms and probably towards The Loft. “So Jacob, your dad told me you like racing video games.”   
    Jacob’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, I’m really good at those!”  
    “Well, I’m not very good at them, but I’d love to see some of your skills later if you’re up for it. I have Mario Kart set up in The Loft. You and I can have ourselves a race after you get settled in.” Sam nudged the boy with her elbow.   
    Jacob smiled. His mother glanced at her husband, giving a look of relief.   
    Most families reacted to arriving at Christopher’s Haven in similar ways. Some came in not knowing anything about the organization. They were often surprised at how smoothly everything ran and how many activities were available for kids. They also seemed to enjoy being able to hang out in The Loft and connect with other families going through similar situations. The staff all worked together to make sure everyone was taken care of.  
    After Sam checked in Jacob’s family, she decided to do some research on different events she could add to the Haven calendar.   
    She googled “skateboarding in Boston” to attempt to find activities for Jacob to attend or something to bring to The Loft. Not long after she began her search, she felt someone stand in front of her. Four coffee cups in a cardboard carrier were set down on her desk along with a small paper bag.   
    “It’s about time you got here with my coffee,” Sam scolded, not looking up from her screen.  
    Scott smiled. “Well, aren’t we Miss Sassy-pants today?” Sam chuckled. “Whatcha working on?” he asked, removing one of the coffee cups for himself.  
    She saved her work and turned towards her most recent visitor. “Just trying to research some skateboarding stuff for one of our new residents.”  
    Her friend gave her a smile. “Didn’t I say you would love it here?”   
    Sam rolled her eyes. “Yes, Scott, you were right.” Her friend never failed to work his attempts at being right into conversations.  
    His eyes lit up. “Oh! You have got to say that again. I don’t get tired of hearing that at all.”  
    Sam smiled and took her coffee cup out of the cardboard carrier. She blew on her coffee before taking a sip of it. “Before we have to widen the door frames before you leave, what brings you in this morning, Scotty?” She peeked into the brown paper sack on her desk, delighted to find a chocolate chip muffin.   
    “You mean, besides to brighten your day with my presence?” Scott held out his hands, showing off himself. He was always impeccably dressed but today he chose a blue striped button down with faded jeans. He flashed her a million dollar grin and she giggled.  
    “Yes, besides that. Though I do enjoy having my fake boyfriend visit me at work.”  
    Scott smiled. “Well, I’m actually here because I wanted to see if you could get a day off here on Wednesday.” He took a sip of his coffee, “and possibly Thursday.”  
    Sam looked up from her pastry with a confused look. “Why? What’s going on?”  
    “Well, you know my brother is going to be in town next week for Comic Con.” She nodded. Sam had yet to meet Scott’s brother but had heard so much about him. Scott  continued. “We are getting tickets to the Red Sox vs. the Indians. Club seats, too! I want you to come with us.”  
    She looked at him cautiously. Something just wasn’t sitting right with her. “What do you mean ‘us’?”  
    Scott grinned. “Oh, you know, just all of those famous movie star people.” He was almost giddy with excitement. “Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are both coming along. Total hotties.”  
    Sam was familiar with the names Scott was saying, however, she did not really know much about them. One of Scott’s favorite pastimes was telling her all about which Hollywood hotties were on his to-do list. She pushed some hair behind her ear, showing off her nervous habit. “Well, as much as I’d love to, I can’t make it.”  
    Her friend frowned “Why the heck not?” he demanded.  
    “I was planning on finishing the wall this week. I can’t really be in two places at once.” Sam was asked by management of Christopher’s Haven to jazz up one of the walls in the Loft. It was a labor of love for Samantha, who couldn't wait to spruce up the room for the residents. A chance to be creative at work and brighten some of the kids’ days made it worth the extra hours.   
    Scott looked disappointed. “Well, can’t you move the schedule around to finish your art a little earlier than anticipated? I really wanted you to come with us especially since…” His speaking trailed off as Sam shot him a glare. He gave a guilty grin and put his hands up in surrender. “I know you are going to be mad that I’m meddling. I just know that you and Chris are really going to hit it off. I want you to spend some time with him, I swear!”   
    Sam sighed out of frustration. “Scotty, why do you insist on trying to set me up?” Ever since they had become friends, her friend had assumed the role of her personal social director.   
    Scott looked offended. “Hey! Who said anything about a set up here?” Sam glared at him as he continued. “I just want to have my brother meet my bestie. I may set the stage but it’s up to you two to actually make a connection. I’m setting up a situation, what’s so wrong with that?”   
    This was not the first time Scott had tried to meddle in Sam’s love life (or lack thereof). He did not understand why she wasn’t interested in dating anyone.  
    “I’d love to meet your brother only if he is as fun as you are.” Sam pointed at her friend. “But you really need to cool it on trying to change my relationship status. Believe me, when I want your help I’ll ask for it.”  
    Scott put his hands up in defense. “Okay, okay. Geez.” He took another swig of his coffee. “Point taken.”


	3. Night Shift

Sam worked at Christopher’s Haven Sundays through Thursdays until about 4 in the afternoon. This left enough time for her to grab a quick dinner before she headed off to her second job at the local bar for her night shift of bartending. Johnny’s, the bar she met Scott in three years ago, was a funky hole-in-the-wall type of place which had a vibe that appealed to most young adults just out of college. Karaoke contests happened almost every night while tables were set up in the back of the bar specifically for flip cup or beer pong tournaments. Small, high-top tables were placed in front of the stage while Sam’s bar top ran along the back wall.   
    The wall across from the bar was Sam’s favorite part of the whole place, mostly because her boss had let her paint it. It may have taken some begging on her part, but in the end she wore Charles down. He agreed to let her paint something on the wall as long as it was related to Boston. Sam chose to create the image of being at Fenway Park. She painted the field, scoreboard, and stands (complete with individual people). Once the painting went up, all of the patrons were enthusiastic about the change. This just boosted Sam’s confidence.   
****  
    “Hey, Big Brother!” Scott exclaimed. He stood up from the table at the bar to give his brother, Chris, a hug.   
    “Man, I’ve missed you!” Chris exclaimed, hugging his brother tightly. Chris had been away filming his most recent movie as Captain America, so it had been a very long time since he had any time off.   
    “Glad you could finally clear your schedule to come visit!” Scott joked.   
    “I know, man. Things have really been crazy with everything going on.” Chris looked around the bar with an impressed look on his face. “Wow! They’ve really made this place look nice, huh? Not quite such a shithole anymore. And, oh wow! Check out Fenway Park!” Chris eyed the mural which was directly across from him. “Looks just like the real thing!”  
    Scott smiled. “Local artist did it. Really classes up the joint.”   
    His brother nodded in agreement. “It’s about time someone pays homage to the greatest baseball park ever.”  
    Chris had on a blue and white checkered button down shirt, dark washed jeans, and a baseball cap. He was also rocking a beard, which helped to cover up his chiseled and more importantly recognizable jawbone.  His brother dressed very similarly in a green and blue checkered button down and jeans.  
    “Are you going incognito or something?” Scott asked, pointing to his brother’s ball cap. “No one is going to notice you and freak out in here. Or at least I’d hope not.”  
    Chris let out a sigh, “I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been stopped since the most recent movie came out. Not that I’m complaining, but it’s always nice to feel normal again.”  
    Scott nodded in agreement.   
    The two brothers caught up on life in general as they enjoyed a few drinks and waited for their other friends to join them.    
    “Oh, by the way, I invited my buddy Sam to come to the game with us.” Scott said.  
    “Oh yea? That’s cool. Sebastian and Mackie are excited about having a guys day out at a game. Should be pretty fun.” Chris cracked some peanuts and disregarded the shells onto a napkin. “Have I met this Sam?” He asked as he popped two peanuts into his mouth and started to crack open another nut.  
    Scott shook his head. “Nope, but Sam is one of my best friends.” He pondered if he should let his brother know the gender of his new friend. If he knew Sam was a girl, he would smell the set-up from a mile away. He’s not technically lying if he leaves that bit of information out, right?  
    Chris smiled at his younger brother. “Just a friend, Scott? Or is this an actual boyfriend of yours?“ His brother had a habit of introducing potential mates as his friends so that he could get an honest opinion on them.   
    Scott forced a look of surprise. “No way! Sam’s not really my type. We are just super close.” He smiled at his brother. “I know you two will really hit it off.” Scott knew that Sam and Chris would be perfect for each other. They were individually such awesome human beings, he couldn’t help but feel the urge to align the stars for them.   
    Chris let out a small laugh. “Well, I look forward to meeting your friend.” He looked towards the door and saw Sebastian walk in. He was headed directly towards the bar. “Look who finally decided to show up.”


	4. A Little Flirt Won't Hurt

On this particular Monday night, Sam had experienced a busy day at the Haven. Ever since Scott invited her to the ballgame, she knew she had to finish the wall before Wednesday. That meant that she spent most of today sketching, writing a list for supplies, and recruiting helpers for the following day. She was definitely hoping for a relatively calm evening at the bar, which would give her some time to go over a few more details and get everything in order for the following day.   
    Sam opted for a black tank top with jeans since it was still warm outside at the moment but would be cold by the time her shift ended. She tied her hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head before she started rewashing some glasses. She bent down to pick up another stack when she heard a voice say “Excuse me” behind her.   
    An attractive guy with brown hair walked up to the bar. Sam couldn’t help but notice his blue eyes and dashing smile. He wore a black t-shirt and jeans. She couldn’t tell if his hair was pulled back into a ponytail or if it was just combed back. Either way, she did not hate looking at him.  
    She smiled “Yes, sir, what can I get for you?” She asked. Adding a flirt to her services as barmaid always seemed to increase her tips. It’s not that she was ever throwing herself at the patrons, but a smile always seemed to help all interactions go more smoothly.   
    The man smiled. “What’s good here?” he asked.  
    Sam’s smile grew bigger as she looked across the bar behind her. She let out a long breath. “Well, I guess that depends what you like.” The man grinned at her response and she felt her cheeks flush. He let out a chuckle and Sam shook her head. “ok, that sounded like I was a prostitute.”  
    “Perhaps a little bit…” the man said, “But I have a feeling this is not that type of bar.”  
    “Yes,” Sam agreed, “definitely not that type.” She gave a shy smile at the man. “Let’s try this again…it depends on what type of drink you like.”  
    The man nodded. “Oh yes, we were talking about drinks weren’t we?” he winked at her and she blushed a little more. “What would you recommend for a guy like me?”  
    “Well,” She thought for a moment, eyeing him over. “If you are getting a drink before embarking on a night of beer pong and shenanigans,” she motioned toward the beer pong and flip cup area “you may want to stick with Blue Moon. If you need some liquid courage before Karaoke,” she motioned towards the stage, “I can make some mean shots or mixed drinks. If you are getting a drink for your girlfriend,” she looked around the bar and did not see any single women sitting alone, but she continued her train of thought anyways, “go for a Cosmo or Sex on the Beach.” She reached for a glass as she glanced back at the man across from her. “Do any of those scenarios describe you?”  
    The man smiled adorably at her. “Well, I’m sure my friends and I will be getting into some shenanigans later, karaoke included, so I guess I have a bit of a problem.”  
    Sam laughed. “What a difficult life you lead!”  
    The man laughed full heartedly and flashed his brilliant smile. “Yes!” he exclaimed, shaking his head in agreement “I really do!” He paused for a moment. “Let’s go with a Blue Moon for now. But you’ll be seeing me again shortly.”  
    “Sure thing.” Sam said, reaching up to the on-tap beers and pulling the Blue Moon lever. Liquid started flowing into the glass and the foam dripped over the edge when she was done. She handed the patron a drink. He brushed his fingers against hers as he took the glass from her. Sam felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “Would you like to start a tab?”  
    The man nodded “Yes. Can you put it under Stan?”


	5. Now You Know

Sebastian smiled as he headed back to Chris’s table. A quick conversation with a cute bartender was fun. The fact that she didn’t go all fangirl on him for his profession, even better. He made sure to position himself at the table so that he could keep an eye on the bar. He was loving the way she looked in those jeans.  
    Chris’s brother Scott was sitting next to him and Sebastian sat across from Chris.   
    “What did you get?” Chris asked, motioning towards the beer.  
    “Blue Moon. Recommendation from the attractive barmaid.” Sebastian took a sip of his beer and raised his eyebrows expressively. “I didn’t realize how beautiful Boston women are!”  
    “Oh, too busy flirting to get me a beer? I see how it is.” Chris joked. “I’ll have to go get one myself then.” He started to get out of his chair when his brunette friend spoke up abruptly.  
    “No!” Sebastian said. “I don’t want you going over there. I saw her first and once she sees you, she’ll forget all about me.” He was only partially joking. All of the girls seemed to fawn over Chris.   
    Scott looked over at the bar and saw Sam talking to a few more patrons. His eyes lit up as he made the realization that Sebastian was talking about her. “I can go get us some more beers.”   
    “Yeah, Scott, you’re safe.” Sebastian said. “I don’t have to worry about you spoiling my prospects. We don’t play for the same team.”   
    Scott laughed nervously. He had described Sam to his brother without using pronouns. Chris was always so quick to disregard meeting a girl that Scott knew because he knew his younger brother would be trying to set him up 99% of the time.   
    “I’m always one to help out and not be a cock-block, I suppose,” Scott muttered. “Blue Moon for you too?” he asked Chris. His brother nodded and motioned toward the mural for Sebastian to take a look.   
    Scott made his way up to the bar. Sam was busy with other patrons, so he stood nearby, drumming his fingers along the counter. He glanced up towards the stage and saw a few groups getting ready to sing Karaoke.   
    “Hey love,” Sam said, recognizing her friend and giving him a warm smile. She tossed down a coaster in front of him and pulled out a bottle opener from her back pocket, popping open a Bud Light Lime and handing it to him.  
    “I need another beer. Blue moon. Tall.” Sam nodded and grabbed a large glass. Scott laughed, “You have already made quite the impression on a man tonight, did you know that?” his friend gave him a confused look.  
    “Who are you talking about? Old Rodney?” Rodney was a retired veteran who made it a point to come in and flirt with whichever female bartender was on call for the evening. Sometimes he could be obnoxious, but overall he was harmless.  
    “No!” Scott motioned his head over his left shoulder. “With that guy over there.”  
    Sam glanced behind Scott, still holding a confused look on her brow. She noticed the guy from earlier. Her smile grew bigger as she replayed their interaction back in her mind.  
    “Oh, you little slut!” Scott joked, interrupting her thoughts as he noticed the smile on his face. “I didn’t peg you as one to flirt with Hollywood Royalty.”  
    Sam’s expression changed as she focused on what Scott was saying.  She furrowed her brow in confusion. “What the heck are you talking about, Evans?” She demanded. “His name is Stan.”  
    Scott chuckled and spoke in a somewhat condescending voice. “Aw, that’s cute. He used an Alias.”   
    “Scott,” She stated sternly, but with a smile. “I honestly have no idea what you are talking about right now. All I did was make a recommendation to that guy with the tab of “Stan.”  
    “That, my dear, is Sebastian Stan. Otherwise known as the Winter Soldier.”  
    Sam used the back of her hand to sweep a few stray hairs out of her face. She had flirted with a Hollywood actor. Not too bad for a Monday night.  
    “Well, I did not know that, Mr. Evans,” Sam said, dramatically drawing out Mr. Evans.   
    “Well…” Scott picked up his beer as well as the beer for his brother and headed back to his table. “Now you do!” he shouted over his shoulder.


	6. Awkward

“Sam, Can you circle the tables and see if anyone wants to get more drinks?” Tony asked.   
    Sam nodded and grabbed a notepad and pen to be able to write down orders.  
    There were two tables filled with sorority girls from a local university. Other tables were occupied by random couples and one table facing the painted mural contained Scott and his guests. Sam decided to hit up the sorority girls first, and eventually she would make it over to Scott’s table. In the back of the bar, guys were beginning their rounds of beer pong on the variety of tables. She made a note to stop there at some point to restock their supplies.  
    Sam went to first table of sorority type girls and asked for orders. Karaoke and liquid courage seemed to go together on a nightly basis. Both tables wanted two different kinds of shots, so Sam hustled back to the bar.  
    She placed empty shot glasses along the bar and focused on each type of shot she needed to make. Into the first shaker went a combination of liquors to create a starburst-flavored shot. Next, she created a dozen “Dirty Girl Scouts”, one of her personal favorites. She made up the other two shots and placed all of the shot glasses onto two different trays.   
    Sam exited the bar and hoisted one of the trays up onto her shoulder. She walked over to the first table of girls, all of whom seemed totally made up for the evening.   
    “Here you go ladies,” She exclaimed, “Enjoy!”  
    After she repeated this with the second tray, she ran back to the bar and entered all of their shot orders. She had a little left over from her shots so she poured them into clean shot glasses. She put the shots onto a new tray and walked towards Scott’s table.  
    “Here you go, Evans,” Sam said, setting the tray down in front of Scott.  
    “Thanks!” an attractive guy sitting across from her had a sparkle in his blue eyes. “We did not order these though.”   
    Sam could not help but notice how captivating his smile was. He had a scruffy beard from lack of shaving and he looked extremely attractive in his baseball hat. She smiled at him. “One of the perks of working here. Nothing but the best for—-“  
    Scott cut her off “Look at how they take care of their hometown heroes. Hasn’t this bar come a long way?” He asked his brother, taking the shots off the tray.  Sam gave her friend a confused look. Why had Scott cut her off? She did not worry about it and instead took the shots off of the tray. “Well, you have a starburst, dirty girl scout, red headed slut, and two alligators fucking. You can decide who gets which one.” She always giggled at the names of some of these shots.  
    Scott continued talking. “And I mean, the mural really classes up the joint.”  
    Sam looked at Scott, giving him a glare that seemed to scream “What was that?”   
    Scott gave her an apologetic look in return. He motioned to the phone and looked like he was texting.  
    “Can I get you guys anything else?” she asked, anxious to get back to the bar and text Scott. Hopefully he would give her a good reason for not introducing her officially as well as cutting her off.   
    The brunette from the bar motioned her to come closer to him. “Are you allowed to take shots?” He asked her. “It’s a shame we have an uneven number of people, and I’d hate to waste it.” His blue eyes seemed to pierce right through her as he playfully bit his lower lip.  
    Sam shrugged. “I think this would be the one job where drinking would be acceptable.”  
    Stan opened his hand and motioned to the shots. “Pick your poison.”  
    Sam immediately grabbed for the dirty girl scout shot. “If I must.” She shot him a smile. He picked up a clear one with a greenish tint to it.  
    “What’s this called again?” he examined the shot. Meanwhile, Scott and Chris were observing their interactions.  
    “That one is two alligators fucking.” Sam said, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. Stan noticed it.  
    “I know, I just wanted you to say it again.” He winked at her. Holding up his shot glass, he clinked with hers, maintaining eye contact with her. Sam broke away from her eye contact with this gorgeous fellow to clink with Scott and the other attractive stranger at the table.   
    “Cheers!” Sam said, downing the shot. The minty chocolatey flavor tasted wonderful. She gathered the shot glasses and turned towards the table. “Thanks for sharing that moment with me guys. It was truly special.”  
    The stranger laughed. “Yes, it was.” he smiled at her. “I’m Chris, by the way.”  
    Sam smiled. “Hi Chris, I’ve heard so much about you—“  
    Scott cut her off, “Uh oh, another fan girl looking up info on the internet.”  
    Sam shot him a look. Why was he creating a scenario that was not true? “Oh yea, that’s totally me, stalker extraordinaire.” Chris’s face fell as he gave an uncomfortable clearing of his throat. Sam quickly tried to take her foot out of her mouth. “Oh no, I’m totally joking. No stalking here.” She picked up her tray, clearly embarrassed.  
    Her friend gave her another apologetic look, as if he knew he would be on her bad side.   
    “If you guys need anything else, let me know.” Sam said, forcing a smile as she turned on her heel to head back to the bar.  
    “Oh, we will.” Stan replied. He watched her as she left, smiling to himself.


	7. Deception

_Sam: WTF is going on, Evans? Why did you turn weird all of a sudden? Making me out to be a stalker with your brother whom I’ve never met?_  
 _Scott:  :( Oh man. I’m sorry. Im afraid if my brother knows you are the friend I’m bringing to the game, everything will be ruined._  
 _Sam: But I am the friend you are bringing to the game. I don’t understand the need for secrecy._  
 _Scott: The moment my brother hears that my Sam friend, who is a girl and happens to be going to the game with us, he’s going to clam up. He doesn’t want to be forced into anything._  
 _Sam thought for a moment._  
 _Sam: I don’t want to be forced into anything either. But wait…He thinks I’m a boy?!_  
 _Scott: Not exactly…but don’t worry! He’s going to love you!_  
    Sam made sure to fill her text message with tons of random emojis to show her disapproval of the situation. She shoved her phone into her back pocket and poured a few pitchers for the guys playing beer pong in the back of the bar.   
    She walked the pitchers right past Scott’s table. She glared at her friend, shaking her head at him. He gave another apologetic look while she maintained eye contact. Then he let out a sigh.  
    “You ok, man?” Chris asked, looking between his brother and the bartender who obviously looked a little annoyed. He noticed a decrease in Scott’s vibrant personality within the past few minutes.  
    “Oh, nothing.” His brother mustered up a smile and changed the subject. “Anyone want to play Beer Pong or Flip Cup?” Both Sebastian and Chris nodded and they both headed to the back of the bar.  
    The guys who had been playing beer pong decided to shoot pool instead, which left them with a table to themselves.   
    “How are we going to play this with uneven teams?” Chris asked.   
    Sebastian’s eyes lit up, “Hey Miss Bartender!”   
    Sam looked over at Scott and his friends, after hearing the attractive brunette attempt to get her attention.   
    “You rang?” she smiled, “Need some pitchers for beer pong?”  
    Chris nodded while Sebastian continued. “Yes, and it seems like we need a fourth player to play with us.” He smiled at her. “Care to join us?”  
    Sam felt her cheeks flush. What was it about this guy that had this effect on her? “I’ll have to ask my boss first. Not sure how he’ll feel about beer pong on the job.”   
    “When do you get off?” Sebastian asked. Chris let out a groan and Sam giggled silently to herself. Normally she would just give a numerical answer of the hour her shift was over. However, he left this line right out there. How could she not reply?  
    She kept her face totally serious as she looked at the brunette. She patted his arm as she replied. “Stan, I don’t feel like we know each other well enough for me to tell you such intimate details.”  
    Chris busted out laughing. “Wow!” he said, looking at Sebastian, who’s cheeks began to deepen in color, “Not the answer I was expecting at all!” He looked at Sam with admiration. Not many girls would be so forward around them. Maybe she didn’t actually know who they were.    
    Sam shrugged her shoulders, “I couldn't just leave that perfect set up sitting there and not take advantage of it.” Sebastian nodded at her, as if he knew he had set himself up for that line. “As for when my shift ends…” she checked her watch, “I’m off at 11 tonight.” She looked at Scott, “Evans, help me with the pitchers will you?”   
    Scott followed closely behind Sam to the bar. “I’m sorry! I panicked!” he whispered, glancing behind him to see if Chris and Sebastian were paying attention. They were too busy laughing at the previous exchange and beginning to take practice shots.  
    “Ok, so you need to tell me what exactly I’m supposed to do?” Sam demanded, pulling down the lever to fill a pitcher. “I feel like you are making this into such a big thing instead of just letting it happen organically.”  
    Her friend let out a sigh, taking a pitcher of beer from her as she began to fill another pitcher. “I know. I know. I’m really not trying to be a total spaz.”  
    “Now your brother thinks I”m a stalker!” She narrowed her eyes on him. “Not the best first impression.”  
    Scott’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want my brother to know that you are the friend I’m bringing to the game just yet. He can smell a set up from a mile away.”  
    “I told you I don’t want to be set up!” Sam exclaimed with frustration, “Honestly, I just want to meet your brother as I am. If he likes me, great. If not, ok. Besides, that Stan character is cute, so if your brother isn’t interested, at least he might be.”   
    Scott sighed. “Ok.” He thought for a moment. “Are you ok with just using your full name tonight?”  
    Sam smiled. “That’s fine. Thank you!” She glanced at her watch, it was 7 minutes until her shift ended. “I’m going to go check with Tony to see if there’s anything else I need to do tonight before I clock out. I’ll meet you over there.” Her friend nodded and took the pitchers back to the table.  
    “So,” Chris asked, “Is your bartender friend coming back?”  
    Scott nodded. “Yeah, her shift is almost over. She just had to double check with her boss on closing out.”  
    His brother looked at him warily. “She’s cool right? I mean, that stalker comment—”  
    Scott’s eyebrows went sky high in shock. “Oh my goodness, yes. She is one of my dearest friends.” Chris looked relieved.  
    Sebastian smiled. “Care to introduce us when she gets back?”  
    Chris’s younger brother nodded and handed them a pitcher to fill up their cups.


	8. Beer Pong and Shenanigans

Sam finished her shift a few minutes early, so she made herself and the guys a round of tequila shots with her boss’s approval. She carried all of them over with a glass full of lime wedges and a salt shaker and put everything down on a high top table near the beer pong table.   
    “Is that what I think it is?” Scott asked. He hurried over and staked his territory over one of the shots.  
    Sam looked at her friend slyly. “Of course, Evans. Would you expect me to crash a friendly beer pong game without bringing something to the table?” She shook her head at him. “It’s like you don’t know me at all.”  
    Stan laughed and Chris eyeballed the newest drinks. “Tequila shots? You must mean business.”  
    Sam shrugged. “I’m off the clock, officially.” She handed Chris a shot then picked up the last two shots. She turned towards the brunette. “Here you go, Stan.”  
    “It’s Sebastian, actually,” he said, accepting the shot and giving a small smile.   
    “Sebastian, huh?” Sam asked. “Like, the crab from The Little Mermaid!”  
    Chris’s face lit up. “Yes! Exactly like that crab. A pain in the ass and always thinks he’s right!” Sam giggled.  
    Sebastian shook his head, rolling his eyes, disregarding what his friend had just said. “Not the first time I’ve heard that.”   
    “Shots, people. Focus!” Scott demanded. He licked his hand and shook some salt on it.   
    “Dude,” Chris said, “This seems so complicated.” He looked at Sam, who was already salting her hand. “Multiple step shots?”  
    Sam smiled. “Not difficult. Salt, shot, suck.” Chris and Sebastian’s eyes got wide on the last word, clearly not expecting it. “Wow. Typical guy reaction to those instructions. Ok…Lick your skin and put salt on it. Take shot. Suck-“ she paused for effect “a lime wedge.” They all laughed, feeling any tension from not knowing each other disappear.  
    “Cheers guys.” Scott said. They all clinked glasses, then proceeded to lick their hands, down the shots, and grab a lime wedge. Sam made a face with the lime wedge.  
    After they took the shots, Sebastian turned back to Sam, speaking quietly. “Do you have a name, or should I just continue to call you the beautiful bartender?”  
    She felt her cheeks redden as Sebastian flirted with her.  
    Scott spoke up. “Oh yes! Introductions. Samantha—” he stressed her name as if to remind her that she was using her full name tonight “this is my big brother Chris and his buddy Sebastian. Guys, this is my very dear friend, Samantha.”  
    “Nice to meet you, Samantha,” Chris said, shaking her hand again.   
    Sebastian took her hand after Chris and brought it to his lips. “Enchante.” He kissed it goofily.   
    Sam retrieved her hand and immediately moved to one of the ends of the beer pong table, a little uncomfortable with this interaction. She wasn’t turned off by it, but she was definitely not used to this sort of attention. “Let’s get our beer pong on. Scotty, will you be my partner?”  
    Chris looked at his brother, grinning. “Pick your side carefully, bro.”   
    Scott looked at Sam. “Hm…I want a winning teammate.” He looked between both his brother and his friend.   
    “Yeah, you know which team to join.” Sam said.   
    Chris grinned and turned his gaze toward the bartender. “Oh, you think you can beat me at beer pong?” Sam looked confident and shrugged. “You must be feeling the effects of that shot already.”  
    Sam smiled at him slyly. “Nope. I just know I’m pretty good at beer pong.”  
    “Pretty good?” Scott scoffed. “Yeah, if that’s what you want to call it.”  
    Sam looked at him, knowing exactly what he was doing. They ran this routine frequently with patrons at the bar. Make it seem like Sam didn’t know what she was talking about, Scott would be reluctant to join forces, making a show of it, then betting the other team that they would win.   
    “I’m willing to bet on it.”  
    Chris’s ears perked up at the idea of a bet. “Woah, did you just say bet?”  
    “Did I stutter?” She asked, hand on her hips.   
    Sebastian grinned. “No you did not.” He looked at Chris, nudging his friend with his elbow. “Want to take that bet?” He motioned towards Sam, who was across the table from his friend. His smile was toothy and definitely stretched from ear to ear, clearly having a great time.  
    Chris smiled, crossing his arms across his body. He made a serious face and cocked his head to the side slightly. His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I do.”   
    Sam couldn’t help but notice the size of Chris’s arms as they were crossed in front of him. “Let’s go, then. Winner gets to choose the loser’s songs for karaoke.”  
    Chris thought it over. “And, losers have to buy next round.”  
    Sam looked at Scott, who nodded at her. “Those stakes sound good.” he said. “Let’s play.”  
    They racked the cups up in the classic triangle pattern.  
    “Wait!” Chris said. “Rules. We need to establish ground rules.”  
    Sebastian joined in. “Yeah, like, bouncing and stuff.”  
    Sam looked at her opponents. “If two balls land in the same cup on one turn, that team automatically wins. Technically, the rule I’m used to is ‘Bitches bounce’, which I find a little offensive since my teammate has a mean bounce shot.”   
    Scott nodded in agreement. “It’s true.”   
    “It’s settled then,” Chris said, “All people should be able to bounce.”  
    “How many re-racks are you used to?” Sam asked.  
    Sebastian raised his eyebrows. “Exactly how much beer pong do you play on a regular basis?” He laughed when Sam replied with a sign showing a little bit.   
    “Ok, so, re-racks.” Chris said. “Let’s say two?” The other team agreed. “Alright, let’s play.”  
    Sam and Scott got the balls first. They both sunk it on their first shot.   
    Chris looked at Sebastian, trying to brush it off. “Lucky shot.”  
    “Send them back!” Scott said, laughing. “Can’t wait to pick those songs out, big bro.” His older brother flicked him off as he bounced the ball back to the opposing side.   
    “Drink up, Sebastian.” Sam said, flirting. “Gotta get ready for our next shot.” Sebastian quickly drained the cup and tossed the ball back to her with a little too much force. “Oh, sore loser already?” she asked. She turned around and bent down to pick up the ball.  
    Sebastian elbowed his teammate and motioned towards Sam, who was bent over picking up the ball. He raised his eyebrows and grinned. Chris laughed, shaking his head, and playfully shoved his friend.       
    Scott noticed the exchange and realized that Sebastian was really interested in Sam. This could be used to their advantage later in the game.   
     Conversation flowed freely between both sides of the beer pong table. Chris and Sebastian asked Sam questions to get to know her, and Scott fielded a few of them himself in order to keep himself in the conversation. The game was a close one since Sam and Chris were evenly matched. Towards the end of the game, Sam and Scott were left with three cups while Sebastian and Chris only had two left.   
    Scott motioned to the other team that they needed a minute. He pulled his partner into a huddle. “You need to pull out the big guns for this.”  
    Sam eyed him. “Seriously?”  
    Her friend nodded. “Yes. Perk up those puppies. We need to throw them off of their game.” Sam used her hands to pull her breasts up so they were peeking out under her tank top. “Much better. Ok, let’s distract them and then we get the balls back.”  
    Sam turned around with her new adjustments and she made sure to stand tall. She tried to pay it cool as the guys across from her took notice.  
    Chris glared at his brother, pointing a finger at him. “Not fair, dude.” He let out a sigh. “You’re killing me right now. You know that, right?” he demanded of Sam. He tried to disguise the smile that was slowly creeping across his lips.   
    She faked an unknowing look. “Whatever do you mean?” She bent down so her cleavage was right near the cups. “Sebastian. I think it’s your turn to shoot. Don't get too distracted.” Scott laughed loudly.  
    Sebastian grinned from ear to ear. He elbowed his friend and whispered, “This totally just became the best game of beer pong I’ve ever participated in.” He just stared then looked up to find Sam’s eyes. “This is really not fair, Samantha.” He gave her a stern look and shook his head.   
    She held her hands up as she stood up. “Hey, not my idea!” She wrapped her arms around her partner. “This guy, right here.”  
    Sebastian ended up missing his shot partially on purpose. The longer he stared, the less he paid attention to the game.  
    Scott and Sam got the balls back. Scott nudged her. “You have those songs picked out, right?”  
    Sam smiled and faced forward. “You bet I do.”  
    They both threw their balls simultaneously and they sunk into the same cup.  
    Sam jumped up and down and then hugged Scott. Then they both proceeded to do their celebratory dance.  
    “Ah, come on.” Chris said, clearly aggravated. “Cheap shot.”  
    “Best 3 of 5?” Sebastian asked.   
    Sam shook her head. “No way. We won fair and square. Besides-“ she checked her watch, “I need to get out of her shortly. I have to get up early for work tomorrow.”  
    Chris furrowed his brow. “This is total bullshit.” He was definitely not used to losing.   
    Scott laughed. “Sorry big brother, you lost fair and square. Now you have to pay up.”


	9. Losers Pay Up

Chris, Scott, and Sam sat at a low-top table near the stage. Sebastian headed to the bar and got a round of dirty girl scouts and beers for the four of them. He brought the shots over to the table and passed them out.   
    “Congratulations, Samantha.” He said, sitting in the open seat to her right. He handed her a shot. Scott loudly cleared his throat. “Oh, and you too, Scott.”   
    “Ok, so you guys cannot hate me. However, I chose the songs for tonight.” Sam said, rubbing her hands together deviously.  The DJ waved at Samantha and flagged her over.  “Hang on, I’ll be right back.” Sam headed up to the DJ to put in the two songs and names to go with each song.  
    “How embarrassing is this going to be?” Chris asked his brother.   
    Scott chuckled. “Nothing too embarrassing.”  
    Sam hurried back to her seat in between Scott and Sebastian. She looked at Scott. “Who do you want to go first?”  
    Scott hugged his brother. “Go on up, Chris. You’ve earned it.”  
    Chris groaned and threw his head back, looking at the ceiling. He trudged up to the stage, pointing at Scott and Sam as the music was keyed in. Familiar notes filled the room and the lyrics started to go up on the screen. First it was just “Oh” but then it kicked up.   
    Chris glared at Samantha, recognizing the song right away. “You have got to be kidding me.” he said into the microphone. He reluctantly began to sing Justin Beiber’s song “Baby.” At some points he got really into it. All three of the remaining people were cracking up watching him. Scott recorded the entire performance slyly.   
    Sebastian enjoyed watching Samantha watch the performance. Her eyes lit up with pure joy at the potential embarrassment of his friend. He could really see himself getting along well with this girl. It definitely didn’t hurt that he found her adorable.  
    As Chris continued his song, everyone on the karaoke floor was singing along. Some of the sorority girls from earlier were really getting into it, screaming and whooping it up. One even took off her bra and threw it up on stage with Chris. This made all of them laugh even harder.   
    At the end of the song, Chris picked up the bra, held it up slightly and smiled, then headed back to his table.  
    “You are responsible for this?” he demanded, glaring at Samantha. He held up the bra with two fingers.  
    She was laughing really hard. “Not the bra! Just the song, I swear! Besides,” her eyes were wide open. “You did a really great job, Biebs. Can I get your autograph?”  
    Chris gave a fake laugh and looked at Sebastian. “I can only imagine what song she has in store for you, man.”  
    His friend smiled through gritted teeth. “Yeah, me neither!”  
    Sam looked over at the DJ booth. The DJ held up two fingers, showing two more people would go before Sam’s next request. “I’m going to get a drink. Anybody want anything?”  
    “Wait” Scott exclaimed. “Aren’t they supposed to buy your next round?”  
    Sebastian smiled at Samantha. “That is true. Let’s go get you a drink.” He walked with Sam up to the bar, putting his hand lightly on her back as he guided her towards the bar.  
    “He doesn’t waste any time, does he?” Scott asked, motioning towards his friend and Sebastian.   
    Chris smiled, “No, he does not. Not when he finds someone he likes.” He watched his friend lead Sam up to the bar.  
    “Thanks for going along with the bet, man.” Scott said, smiling admiringly at his brother.   
    He took a sip of his bottle of beer. “No problem.” He gave a slight chuckle and a smile spread across his lips. “That friend of yours is a real firecracker, isn’t she?”  
    His brother laughed. “Yeah. She’s really great.”  
    “Eh, we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one. Making me sing Bieber in front of college girls is not what I’d describe as great.” Chris gave his brother a grin to show he was only partially joking.   
    Meanwhile, Sebastian gave Sam a bold smile as they waited for the bartender to come over. “I have to admit I’ve never enjoyed losing a game of beer pong so much. That song you picked for Chris was perfect!” he exclaimed. “I have to admit it makes me a little scared for the song you picked for me.”  
    Sam gave him a smile. “I’m not that evil, don't worry.” She motioned towards the bar. “Do you know what you’re going to order?”  
    “Well, that depends on your order. I’ll follow your lead.”  
    Sam thought for a moment as the bartender approached them.  
    “Hey, Sam. Your usual Long Island?” The guy asked.  
    “Make it two.” Sebastian said, moving up closer to Samantha in order to stake out his territory. The bartender nodded and turned away to begin making drinks.  
    “You’re a Long Island guy, huh?” Sam asked, giving a look of surprise.   
    “I am tonight.” He winked at her. “Do you want anything else? Another shot perhaps?”  
    Her eyes lit up. “That depends…” she tilted her head slightly “Do you trust me?”   
    Sebastian chuckled. “Honestly, I’m not sure yet. We will see for sure after I perform my song. But for now, sure.”  
    The bartender returned with their Long Islands and Sam smiled at him. “Peppermint Patties.” she said. The bartender nodded and grabbed a bottle of peppermint schnapps. He poured two shots of it and grabbed the chocolate syrup.   
    Sebastian gave her an unknowing look. “Chocolate syrup, huh? Was not expecting that.”  
    Sam giggled. “Have you done this before?” He shook his head no “Ok. The syrup goes under your tongue but don’t swallow it, ok?”  
    “Don’t swallow. Got it.” He put on his game face. “Let’s do this.”  
    He tipped his head back and opened his mouth wide. Sam poured the chocolate syrup under his tongue. Then she followed suit, holding up her finger as if to stall him from doing anything.  
    “Fol-oh muh eed” Sam muffled the words out. Sebastian’s eyes were sparkling as he watched her take the peppermint shot and shake her head furiously back and forth. When she swallowed it, she let out an “ah” sound. “Ok. Your turn.”  
    Sebastian grabbed the shot from her. “Oh-Ay” he said with a mouth full of syrup. He repeated Sam’s steps and let out the same “ah” sound when he swallowed the shot. He raised his eyebrows. “That was delicious!”  
    Sam smirked. “See? I’m worth trusting.”  
    Sebastian smiled. “So far, yes. However, we will see for certain soon.”  
    Sam glanced back at the stage. The DJ waved to her to come back over. “Uh oh. Somebody else’s turn to go up!” She nudged him in the arm with her elbow. “Can’t wait!”  
    He grabbed his mixed drink and clinked it with hers.  “Let’s get this over with.” He drank a big swig of it and coughed a little. “Wow” he looked at the glass. “A few of these and I may actually volunteer for karaoke.”  
    Sam grabbed his hand and led him back to the stage.   
    Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” came over the speakers. Chris belly laughed so hard and offered Sam a high five for her selection. Sebastian pointed at Sam as if to say “I’m going to get you for this!” but then had a total ball with it. He worked the crowd and even motioned for a pen from one of the ladies with the college crew. He grabbed a napkin during a musical interlude and wrote something down.   
    With the last verse, he looked right at Sam. “Hey, I just met you. And this is crazy. But here’s my number. So call me baby.” He handed her the napkin and then he jumped on stage to finish the song. Scott raised his eyebrows and grabbed the napkin from Sam before she could open it. He opened it and had a look of shock on his face. Then he smiled and mouthed the word “wow” to Sam, who grabbed the napkin out of his hand. On the napkin, in sloppy handwriting, was a phone number. Her cheeks turned bright red and she bit her lip as she held back a smile.  
    Sebastian bowed and received a loud round of applause from the table of women as well as his table of friends. He returned to the table and gave them all a big grin. He sat next to Sam, looking proud of himself for pulling off such an awesome performance. She took out her phone and punched in the number.   
    She typed “Here’s my number, so now we’re even :)” When she hit send, she heard the notification sound come from Sebastian’s pocket. Scott spoke up.   
    “This was amazing!” He looked at Samantha. “Aren’t you glad you joined us?”  
    “Oh yes, yes I am!” she flashed both Evans’ brothers a smile.   
    Chris took a long swig from his beer bottle. “Yeah yeah. Whatever. Night’s still young. We could do a rematch.”   
    Sam snuck a look at her watch. “Oh, dang it. I have to go.”   
    “Do you turn into a pumpkin at midnight?” Sebastian asked.  
    “Seriously.” Chris stated. He looked at his costar. “Nice Cinderella reference by the way.”  
    “Why, thank you!” His friend replied, putting his hand on his chest and nodding his head like he was bowing.  
    “Not a pumpkin, per say,” Sam said. “However, I’m painting a mural at work tomorrow.”   
    Scott smiled. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, then we can head over to the Haven together, since I’m helping and all.”  
    Chris’s ears perked up at the word Haven. “Wait, where do you work?”  
    “Christopher’s Haven.” Sam said with a smile. “Near Boston Children’s Hospital.”  
    His eyes lit up. “No way! That’s the charity I work with often. I’m actually going up there tomorrow with Seb and Anthony.” He smiled at her as he took another sip of his beer “Small world!”   
    Sam smiled. “Sometimes yes, yes it is.” She finished her Long Island and put the glass down on the table. “Scott, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” She went in for a hug. Chris and Sebastian both stood up to hug her goodbye. “It was very nice to meet you guys.”  
    “It was very nice to meet you, Samantha,” Chris said as he hugged her. “I look forward to our rematch, but I’m sure we’ll see you tomorrow at the Haven.”  
    “I’ll be the one covered in paint.” She exclaimed, turning to the brunette. “Bye Sebastian, thanks so much for the drinks.”   
    “My pleasure, beautiful.” He pulled her into an engulfing hug. She couldn't help but feel so comforted by it. Part of her didn’t want to let go, but she forced herself anyway. “Text me, maybe?” He said softly into her ear. The sound of his voice in her ear made her breath hitch in her chest for a moment.  
    Samantha giggled. “Already one step ahead of you.” she said softly so that only he could hear.   
    She gave them another wave and she headed out the door to head home for the night. As she got into her car, she stopped to think about what happened that evening. Sam couldn’t help but smile as she hugged both movie stars. Chris was drop dead gorgeous and Sebastian was devilishly handsome.   
    “Man, I’m in trouble,” she thought to herself.


	10. Eggs and Embarrassment

The next morning, Sam’s alarm clock went off way too soon. She popped some Excedrin  to prevent a hangover headache later that morning and chugged a large glass of water. She brushed her teeth while stretching in her bathroom as she tried to wake up. She was in an oversized Browns jersey which hung off of her shoulder and a pair of boy shorts underwear. Wearing comfy clothes and not needing pants was one of the perks of living by herself.  
    She padded her way into the kitchen and turned on her Keriug machine. She decided to make herself some breakfast since Scott would be over soon to pick her up.   
    “Omelet it is,” she said to herself. She pulled out eggs, milk, cheese, peppers, and mushrooms from the fridge.   
    She put on some music while she began to pull together her breakfast. Her phone was charging on the center island and she pulled up her Ed Sheeran playlist. “Touch and Go” by Ed Sheeran came out through her bluetooth speaker and she pulled out a cutting board to chop up her veggies.   
    She turned her back to the island after she cranked up the volume on her speaker. Nothing better than jamming out to some music first thing in the morning. She pulled a skillet out of the drawer under her oven and turned the heat on. She danced around to the beat of the music. Then Sam proceeded to crack some eggs and put them into a small bowl with some milk. She whisked them into oblivion as the song changed to “All of the Stars” by Ed Sheeran. She belted it out as she poured the eggs into the sizzling skillet.  
    Sam couldn’t hear the door to her apartment open with the volume up this loud and her back to the door. She had no idea that two visitors were standing in her entryway, watching her every move.   
    As she flipped over her omelet, “Take it Back” came on over the speaker. “I’m not a rapper I'm a singer with a flow/ I‘ve got a habit for spitting quicker lyrics you know/ You’ll find me ripping the written out of the pages they sit in/I never want to get bitten.” Sam knew all of the lyrics to this song as it was one of her favorites. She rapped along with him quickly and then belted out the lyrics to the chorus loudly and surprisingly on key. She turned off the burner and walked over to her upper cabinet to grab a plate. She had to reach up to grab it, causing her jersey to lift up a bit.   
    Sam used a spatula to put her egg creation onto her plate. She turned around and placed the plate on the island. She quickly turned and headed towards the fridge to get ketchup.   
    When she turned back around, she was startled by the two visitors who were now sitting at her kitchen island. She nearly dropped the bottle of ketchup.   
    “Morning sunshine!” Scott said with a grin. He had his phone out as he had been recording the entire performance.  
    Sam glared at him. “How long have you two been there?” she demanded, cheeks rapidly radiating heat.  
    His older brother smiled at her. “Long enough to know you have wicked rapping skills!” He chuckled as she groaned. She sat down at one of the small stools at her island.  
    “Do you guys want some coffee to go with my embarrassment?” she asked.  
    Chris’s eyes lit up. “Yes, please!” He headed around the island as she stood up and opened a lower cabinet to look at a variety of k-cups. “What kind-“ he stopped talking when he realized she didn’t have any shorts on.  
    “Let’s see. Vanilla, hazelnut, morning blend?” Sam was bent over the pull out drawer of the lower cabinet, sifting through k-cups.   
    Chris looked at Scott in shock, wanting to be a gentleman and not look, but at the same time feeling the urge to keep his eyes on the boy shorts.   
    Scott laughed which caused him to start a coughing fit. Sam turned around to shoot him a confused look as Chris spoke up.  
    “Morning blend sounds great.”  
    Sam grabbed one and turned around to hand it to the older Evans brother. Chris clenched his jaw slightly, a smile slowly creeping across his face as he looked down at her. He couldn’t help but do a once over on this girl, who was clearly still half asleep. She reached into an upper cabinet to grab him a mug from the top shelf.   
    Chris watched as the jersey lifted up as she reached for the mug on her tiptoes. She lowered herself back down and turned to hand it to him. He had to pause for a second to regain his focus on speaking. “I’d say nice jersey, but I’d be lying.” He joked.   
    Sam looked down at herself and it suddenly hit her that she had no pants on. “Oh my god. This is not happening right now.” She turned even more red than she was before. “Fuck!” she muttered. “Hang on.”  
    She pulled the jersey down to cover her tush as she trotted back into her bedroom.   
    Scott pulled the plate of hot eggs over to him and grabbed a fork. He used the side of it to tear off a corner of the omelet and he put it into his mouth. “She’s great, isn’t she?” he asked his older brother, moving his eyebrows up and down. Chris could only grin at him and nod, not saying anything.  
    Sam came back into the kitchen wearing a tank top and a pair of overalls full of paint splatters. “Ok, better make my embarrassment coffee a double.” She looked at Chris with a serious face. “I mean, you should really feel special. Not many guys get to see me in my underwear less than 24 hours after meeting me.” She pulled the plate back from Scott. “I’m not that kind of girl.”  
    “Well, then, I guess I’ll consider myself special.” Chris replied.   
    Scott attempted to take another bite of Sam’s omelet. She pulled the plate out of his reach. She rummaged through a drawer to pull out two more forks. She put one in front of Chris and then pushed the plate in the middle of the three of them.   
    “Keep in mind that I didn’t know I’d be cooking you guys breakfast,” Sam said, taking a bite of eggs.  Chris stabbed a bit of the egg mixture and began to examine it critically. He let out a hum and smelled the bite. She looked at him with a slight frown. “You, sir, are ridiculous.”  
    He gave her a look that seemed to say “Who me?” and reluctantly ate the bite. His eyes rolled back in his head slightly as he savored the bite, then he went in for another. And another.  
    “Ok. I’m going to make another one.” Sam said, standing up. “Didn’t realize I’d have to feed the Evans crew.”  
    Scott nodded as he stuck his fork into the eggs to sneak another bite. “Yeah, good plan.”   
    Chris watched as Samantha gathered the items from the fridge and proceeded to whisk up some more eggs. He grabbed the knife and began chopping more peppers for this omelet.  
    Sam raised her eyebrows, clearly impressed. “I see at least one Evans brother has some chivalry.”   
    The older Evans brother chuckled, eyes sparkling as he smiled. The younger Evans brushed it off and continued to eat. Sam turned on the burner and poured the egg mixture in. Chris grabbed the pepper and salt shakers, handing her the salt as he cranked some pepper into the eggs. She used the spatula to move the eggs around and she looked up at him to add the vegetables. Chris picked up the cutting board, using the knife to scrape the peppers into the pan. His elbow slightly brushed Sam’s elbow and she felt her senses intensify. She grabbed the shredded cheese and added some to the eggs.   
    “Come on now.” Chris demanded, “You GOTTA do better than that.”  
    She narrowed her eyes at him, smiling, “This is what I did with the other one.” Chris gave a doubtful look and Sam handed him the bag. “Here, add more if you want. However, I cannot take credit for this creation.”   
    Chris sprinkled more cheese on top and grinned. He took the spatula from Sam’s hands, flipping the eggs over. When it was done, he put it onto the plate. Sam was sipping her coffee as Chris brought the plate over and stood directly next to her. He placed the plate in between the two of them, out of Scott’s reach. He held his fork up, “Cheers.”  
    Sam tapped his fork with her fork. “Cheers.”   
    “Hey!” Scott said, clearly annoyed he wasn’t invited.  
    “Sorry little bro,” Chris said, “but you’re a bit of a freeloader.”  
    Sam took a bite and looked impressed. “Good call on the cheese, Evans.”  
    The younger Evans brother looked hurt. “That’s my nickname.”  
    “Aw,” Sam said pouting, “Don’t you worry little guy. You’re still my favorite younger Evans brother.”   
    Chris swallowed his bite of breakfast. He thought for a moment “Wait…did we just—“  
    “Become best friends?” Sam finished. They both chuckled together.  
    Sam’s phone let off a notification, which came through over the blue tooth speaker. She pulled her phone over and unlocked it. A new text message notification was waiting for her.  
     _Stan: Good morning, beautiful. Can’t wait to see you later today._  
 _Sam smiled to herself and replied._  
 _Sam: I’ll be covered in paint, remember._  
 _Stan: Sounds fun!_  
    Scott got up to refill his coffee and peeked over her shoulder. “ooh…who are you talking to?” His voice became a teasing tone. “Mr. Sebastian Stan perhaps?”  
    Sam’s cheeks flushed. “He texted me and I’m replying. What’s wrong with that?”  
    Her friend laughed. “Yeah, you’re never one to be rude.”  
    Sam glared at him.   
    “Should we get going?” Chris asked. “I hear someone needs to paint a mural today.”  
    “Yes.” She replied. “Let’s go.”


	11. Making Art

When they arrived at the Haven, Chris and Scott headed into Joyce’s office while Sam headed back to the Loft.  
    It was still early, so many of the residents were sleeping. Luckily, Sam had prepped and primed the wall the previous day. Today was the day she was going to let the kids help her create the mural.   
    The task ahead of her was the prep the room so that nothing was ruined as the kids were painting. Sam started to tape up tarps over the adjacent walls, ceiling, and floor. She made sure every surface which might come in contact with paint would be protected. When everything was secured, she went into the back room to gather her other supplies.   
    By the time Scott showed up to help her, Sam was up on a ladder taping up letters and shapes she had cut from poster board. Her back was to the main door so she only knew he was there by overhearing the voice behind him.  
    “Ok, Boss, Whatdoya need me to do?” he asked.  
    “‘Bout time you showed up,” she said. “The kids are coming at 9:30 to start! I need to finish securing these to the wall, fill up the guns and balloons with paint, and get some paint poured with sponges. Oh! And we need to get the hairdryers plugged into extension chords. Can you start on filling up the balloons?”  
    Her friend nodded, grinning ear to ear. “This is going to look awesome when we are done. Can you just try to relax?”  
    Sam let out deep breath. “Yeah, I hope so! I just really want to make this wall look amazing for all of the families coming through here.”  
    “It will be amazing, Sam.” Scott assured her. “And it’ll be super fun for the kids, too!”  
    As if on cue at exactly 9:30, 7 kids filtered into the loft wearing old clothes.   
    “Hey guys!” Sam exclaimed. “Are you ready to make this wall beautiful?”  
    All of the kids were very excited. They ranged in age from 10 to 17, 4 boys and 3 girls. Some were patients while others were siblings of those going through treatment.  
    “Will we all get to paint?” a brown haired girl named Abby asked. She was the youngest of the kid volunteers.  
    Sam smiled at her warmly, “Of course, Abby! This is going to be your wall.” She turned her attention to the other children. “All of you will get to put your mark on this wall. I just ask that we all work together and respect each other’s ideas, ok?” Everyone nodded. “Ok, let’s get down to basic rules. If you are painting, or if you are on the tarps, you need to wear safety goggles. There will be a lot of paint flying in a little bit and I don't want anyone to get it in their eyes. Please try your best to not get paint on the tarps, since they will become very slippery if they get wet. If you do spill something, let Scott or I know so we can fix it, ok?” The children nodded. “Wonderful. Now, I know that the idea of shooting someone with a paint gun seems like an awesome idea. However, I highly urge you to NOT shoot paint or throw a sponge or balloon at anyone. Got it?”  
    “Yes, Sam,” the boys said in unison. She laughed.   
    “Ok. Let’s get painting!”  
    Sam directed the kids to figure out who would be throwing balloons first. They decided amongst themselves that they would use one balloon of each color to start. Sam had picked out red, light blue, navy blue, lime green, purple, orange, yellow, and pink. The oldest boys each took a balloon and one by one, they threw the balloon directly at the wall. Each time it exploded, there would be a combination of gasps and cheers with comments about what colors should go next.


	12. Coffee Break

Meanwhile, Chris was waiting for Sebastian and Mackie in the front lobby. His mom, Lisa, was there to oversee the visit by the superstars. She arrived shortly after Scott headed to the Loft.  
    Lisa was such a kind woman, always open to helping people. When she first started working at the Haven, Sam was a little intimidated to meet Scott’s mother. However, once she actually got to know her, she loved Lisa as much as Scott did. She invited Sam to family dinners when she learned that Sam’s parents were not living nearby. Sam was able to meet Scott’s sisters and their families and she immediately felt at home.   
    “It’s so wonderful you could come visit, honey.” Lisa said, kissing Chris on the cheek.   
    “Aw, you know I love coming to visit, Ma,” her eldest son replied. He double checked his watch and let out a sigh. “I’m hoping Seb and Mackie didn’t get stuck in rush hour traffic.”  
    “The kids are going to love seeing all three of you,” his mother said with a smile.   
    “Yeah, I figured we could walk around to different rooms then go hang out in the Loft for a bit.” Chris said. “I mean, once it’s able to be accessed.”  
    “Oh, that’s right!” Lisa said with a smile, “I forgot that the mural is going up today.”   
    “Scott’s helping too,” Chris added, “Which is scary in itself.” His mother laughed. “Have you seen any of Samantha’s art?”  
    His mother’s eyes lit up. “Oh yes! She is very talented.” She smiled knowingly at her son. “And such a nice girl. I’m so glad you finally got to meet her.” Her eyes twinkled with delight. “Isn’t she just wonderful?”  
    Chris playfully groaned out loud. “Ma, you’re getting to be as pushy as Scott.”  
    Lisa laughed. “Yes, well, we both just want what’s best for you.”  
    “Knock knock,” a bold voice spoke up in the doorway of the office.  
    “Hey!” Chris said with enthusiasm. “‘Bout time you two showed up!”  
    Sebastian smiled underneath the rim of his black baseball hat, one hand in the pocket of his jeans. He looked like an everyday guy with his grey T-shirt on, carrying a drink tray of four cups of coffee. Meanwhile, Mackie was looking like a movie star in his black crew neck shirt, grey slacks, new black tennis shoes, and sunglasses. He set down the other drink tray with four other cups of coffee and immediately went to Lisa for a hug.   
    “Mrs. Evans!” He exclaimed. “Give me some sugar! Come on!” He wrapped his arms around Chris’s mom, who laughed and returned the hug.  
    “Hi boys! I'm so glad you are here!” Lisa exclaimed. “The kids are going to love it!”  
    “Heck yeah they are!” Mackie exclaimed. “Everyone here wants to meet the Falcon.”  
    Sebastian laughed as he handed Chris a coffee.  
    “Thanks, man.” Chris replied.  
    “No problem,” Sebastian said. “I’m excited to meet some kids today.” He grinned. “I mean, for those few who want to meet the WINTER SOLDIER.” He stressed the last two words with a deep voice in order to mock Anthony. “Where’s Scott? I brought him a coffee. Didn’t you two drive together?”   
    Chris finished the sip of his coffee. “Yeah. He’s helping Samantha with her mural in the Loft.”   
    Sebastian smiled, thinking about the girl from the previous night.  “I should probably get him his coffee.”   
    His friend laughed. “Yeah. That’s why you want to go find Scott.” He took another sip of his coffee, debating on telling Sebastian about the morning he spent with Samantha. He opted against it. “We can walk down there together and then we can head to some of the patient rooms.”  
    Sebastian took a sip of his own coffee. “Sure. Sounds great.” He was slightly disappointed he wasn’t heading down there on his own. However, he was looking forward to seeing this girl again.


	13. Splatter

After the kids decided that was enough from the balloons, Sam directed the kids to each grab a hair dryer. She showed them how to dry small sections of the wall so that all of the paint wouldn’t run together. She cranked up some music while the dryers were running.  
    While the kids were drying different sections of the wall, Sam had Scott pour some of the bolder paint colors into shallow trays.   
    “Ok, guys. When your section is almost dry, come back over here.” She grabbed one sponge for each of the colors. Sam stood with her back to the main door, looking at the wall. So far, it had one big splatter of each of the colors. “Take a minute and look at the wall. What do you guys think?”  
    Abby gave a thumbs up. Trevor shouted out “It needs more color.” The other kids agreed.  
    “I totally thought the same thing!” Sam exclaimed. “Now we are onto phase two of our painting. I need four volunteers with good throwing arms who are also not afraid to get messy.” All of the boys raised their hands. The girls groaned. “No worries ladies, you are going to get to tell them what to do!” The girls cheered and it was the boys’ turn to groan. “Gentlemen, I need you to choose one of these shallow trays. Now, ladies, check out the colors we have here. You are going to tell the boys where to throw their sponges. Boys, you are all going to get a chance to boss these three girls around too, so don’t feel like you are missing out.”  
    The boys dipped their sponges into the paint to get them fully saturated. Sam borrowed one of the trays with lime green. “I’ll demonstrate what we are going to do. Scott, I have lime green paint here. I want you to tell me where I should throw my sponge.” She dipped the sponge into the paint so that it absorbed as much as possible.  
    Scott examined the wall. Then he looked to the group. “What do you guys think?” The group chattered together and finally decided on having Sam add a splatter to the middle of the wall. Scott noticed a group of adults enter the room and then head in their direction. However, he kept a straight face while talking to the kids.   
    “Middle of the wall. Are you absolutely sure?” Sam asked. The kids all nodded with huge grins on their faces, ready to see what would happen next. Sam picked up the sponge with one hand after she put the tray down out of the way. She looked at the wall for a moment, then stood still with her side facing the wall, as if she were a major league pitcher. She did a wind up and then threw the sponge as hard as she could. When it hit the wall, paint went flying everywhere. It left a small dent from the force and paint began to drip down the wall.  
    “Woah.” Trevor said. “That is so awesome.”  
    The oldest boy, Billy, looked pretty pleased. “We get to make marks like that?”  
    Sam nodded. “Absolutely! Girls, figure out where you want to put the paint. Boys, let it fly.” She stepped back to let all of the kids continue with the wall.  Her hand was completely covered in lime green paint, so she wiped her hand onto her overalls, adding to her war paint splatters. She knew it wouldn’t take it all off, however, some was better than none.  
    Sam was confused when she felt a hand cover her eyes. She put her hands onto the hand to attempt to figure out who was touching her.   
    “Scott?” she asked.   
    The kids started to murmur among themselves, recognizing apparently more than one visitor in the room.   
    “Oh my gosh! Is that Captain America?” Trevor asked. “Oh! And the Winter Soldier…and Falcon!”  
    Sam smiled to herself, feeling the finger tips of the hand still covering her eyes. “Well, you at least have to give me a hint.” she said. “Guys?”  
    Abby was obviously very excited. “It’s the cute one!” she exclaimed.  
    Sam laughed, thankful not everyone could see her cheeks redden. “I’m going to need a little more clarity than that, please, Abby. They are all cute.”  
    She heard deep chuckles behind her.   
    Abby continued to help. “You know! The one who doesn’t have a shield.”  
    Trevor was grinning from ear to ear. “Yeah,” he said “and this one cannot fly.”  
    “Oh! Of course!” Sam said. “Hello Stan.”  
    Sebastian removed his now lime green hand from Samantha’s eyes. He had a debonair smile on his face and he looked absolutely adorable in his black cap. “Great clues, kids!” he exclaimed. He turned his focus back to her. “Good morning, Samantha.”  
    “Hey kids!” Chris exclaimed. “That wall looks colorful! Are you guys having fun helping with the mural?” He asked them. The kids all started chattering.  
    Mackie walked up to Samantha on Sebastian’s right side. “Wait. Is this the same Samantha you were blabbering on about this morning in the car?”  
    Sebastian kept looking at Samantha. “That very one.” He let out a breath and used his paint covered hand to motion between the two. “Mackie, meet Scott’s friend Samantha. Samantha, this is my oh-so-subtle costar, Anthony.”  
    Samantha gave a little bit of a wave. “Nice to meet you!”  
    “Likewise,” Anthony replied. “I’d shake your hand but honestly, green is not really my color.” Sam laughed in reply and nodded.   
    Sebastian was holding three coffee cups in his drink carrier. He motioned Scott over for his cup.   
    Samantha pointed to Sebastian’s hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who was behind me. I didn’t mean to get your hand all full of paint.”  
    He shrugged it off. “No big deal. Listen, I didn’t know how you liked your coffee, so I took my best guess.” He handed her a cup. “If I got it wrong, let me know, so I can make it up to you next time.”  
    Samantha took a sip of her drink. “Next time?” she asked. “You sound confident that there will be a next time for coffee.”  
    Sebastian shrugged. “I’m assuming I’ll get to see you again. I’ve always been an optimistic thinker.”  
    Sam smiled and took another sip. “This was really nice, Sebastian. Thank you.” She heard Chris call for Sebastian to come over and meet the painters.   
    “No problem. I’m glad I was able to see you in action. Now I’m off to visit some kids, but I’ll definitely catch up with you later.” He flashed her another goofy grin as he hustled over to where Chris was. Lisa joined Scott and Samantha as they all turned to face the three celebrities with the kids.  
    “I can’t believe he brought you coffee.” Scott said. Lisa smiled.   
    “Neither can I.” Sam took another sip from the cup and smiled, trying to brush it off. “He’s just being nice, though, Scott. Some people do nice things without ulterior motives.” She smiled at Scott’s mom. “Right Lisa?”  
    Chris and Scott’s mother nodded in agreement. “Sebastian is such a sweet man. However, I’m more interested in hearing about how last night went. I heard you finally got to meet Chris!”    
    “Yes, I did,” Sam replied. “We had a fun time playing beer pong together. Although, Chris is much more of a sore loser than I was expecting.”  
    Lisa laughed. “He is quite competitive, just like all of my kids.” She smiled proudly at Scott. “I’m just so excited that both of my boys are finally in the same town!” she exclaimed. “Will you and Chris be seeing each other while he’s in town?” she asked Sam. “He really is such a catch.”  
    Sam choked on her coffee while Scott stifled a laugh. She narrowed her eyes just a little, glancing back and forth between her best friend and his mother. She couldn’t help but smile. “Why am I starting to feel like I’m getting ganged up on here?”  
    Lisa smiled sweetly at Sam. “No, dear, we just both want what’s best for you.”  
    “Well, it would be lovely to get to know Chris better. I mean, I love this guy so much,” she exclaimed, playfully pinching Scott’s cheek, “That I can only imagine how great a heterosexual version of him might be. However, I really think you both are getting your hopes up on something that probably will never happen.”   
    They were interrupted by the sound of a girl saying “Can we boss the boys around now?”  
    “Absolutely. Work together and make a mess.” The kids cheered.  
    Sebastian, Mackie, and Chris all waved goodbye as they headed towards the patient rooms. Chris turned around on his way out, making eye contact with Samantha. He gave a shy smile and a wave. Sam felt a swarm of butterflies start to go crazy in her stomach as she waved back. 


	14. Mission Complete

The boys loved throwing sponges full of paint at the wall. They were thoroughly covered in paint so Sam was relieved she asked them to wear old clothes. The hairdryers helped to solidify the paint to keep it from all running together. This also helped to keep the splatter effect, which looked pretty cool.   
    After Sam had the boys clean up their hands, she handed the girls water guns filled with paint. She instructed the boys to tell the girls where to shoot the paint. They were able to make lines all over the wall which was a nice contrast to the splatters. When the girls were done shooting at the wall, all of the kids grabbed hairdryers one more time to dry a few more sections.  
    “You guys did a fantastic job!” Sam exclaimed. “This wall looks awesome!”  
    “Is it totally done?” Trevor asked.  
    Scott shook his head. “Nope. There’s one last step that Sam’s going to finish.” He looked at his watch, turning to Sam. “I’m going to go try to catch up with Chris and the guys. Are you good here?”  
    Sam nodded. “Yeah. It’ll be completely done by tonight.” She rubbed her hands together. “Ok, go get cleaned up and maybe you will be able to see those movie stars again.” The kids chattered together. They all gave her high fives and a few embraced her with hugs.   
    Soon, Sam was left all by herself in the loft, which she did not mind. Her heart felt full with the love from these kids. She was very excited to be able to share her love of art with this group. She just hoped that the kids loved her concept for this wall.   
    Sam grabbed her phone and headphones and put on a mix she created just for painting. She pulled a ladder over and climbed up with her paint scraper. Slowly, she began to pull back on the words and shapes she had taped to the wall before they painted it. As she pulled them off of the wall, she noticed some areas needed touching up.   
    It took her about 45 minutes to pull off the stencils. She climbed down the ladder and walked to the other side of the room. She turned and looked at the lettering, hoping it would resemble the vision she had in her head.  
    As the tune changed from Twenty One Pilots to The Black Keys, Sam poured some of the primer paint into a small cup. She grabbed a small flat brush and climbed back up the ladder. Slowly, she began to paint over the letters.  
    Sam painted for a solid hour and a half. She really wanted this wall to be perfect. As she finished the final letter, she felt her phone buzz. She put down the paint brush and pulled her phone out of her pocket.  
    She saw an image of a picture on the front of her phone, but she couldn’t tell what it was. She unlocked her phone and saw that it was a picture of the wall, with her touching it up. Written underneath it was “Looking good!”  
    It took her a moment to recognize that this photo must have been taken within the past few minutes.  She climbed down the ladder and turned to find Scott waiting patiently.  
    “So…what do you think?” Sam asked, motioning towards the wall.  
    The wall itself was almost completed. It was completely covered in paint with splatters, drips, and lines all over it. Sam had peeled off the words for “The Loft” and a few stars on either side, so it looked as if the letters were painted in white.  
    “I think that you are way more talented than you give yourself credit for.” His eyes were bright and he was smiling from ear to ear with that bold, whitened smile of perfectly straight teeth.  
    “Do you think the families will like it?” Sam asked.  
    Her friend nodded. “Yeah, I really think they will!”  
    She wiped her hands onto her overalls, excited to be done with this project. “Time to clean up. Definitely my least favorite part.”


	15. Mario Kart

The Loft was returned to it’s original state when Scott and Sam were done cleaning. They took a moment to just sit on the floor and talk for a little bit.   
    “When the guys are done, do you want to grab lunch somewhere?” he asked.  
    She nodded. “Most definitely.” She thought for a moment. “I understand if you want to spend time with your family on your own though.”  
    Scott gave her a confused look. “What do you mean?”  
    “Chris is in town, your mom is super excited. I just mean that I understand if you don’t want me there for everything.”  
    “I’ll let you know, ok?” He had kindness in his eyes, knowing what Sam was thinking. “Are you doing ok? I didn’t even realize how close it was to the anniv—“  
    “I’m fine.” Sam cut him off, not wanting to get into it. “Just wanted to put it out there.” She forced a smile.  
    Chris, Mackie, and Stan made their way into the room. “Woah!” Mackie bellowed. “‘Bout time to cut the check!” Sebastian and Chris chuckled at their costar’s memorable tag line.  
    “Samantha, this looks amazing!” Chris exclaimed, in awe of the change made to the wall in such a short amount of time. He stood back and a smile crept across his face. “What an awesome idea.”  
    “I cannot take all of the credit.” Sam said, smiling at the feedback. “Those kids were great at executing my vision and putting their own spin on it.”  
    “You definitely are in the right profession as an artist,” Sebastian said. “I may hire you to come paint a wall at my place in New York.”  
    Sam blushed. “How was visiting the families today?” she asked, changing the subject, thankful to get the focus off of herself.   
    “Awesome!” Mackie said. “Those kids LOVED seeing the Falcon in person.” HIs cast members chuckled. “Oh, I guess they were also glad to see both of them too.”   
    “Was Jacob back from treatment today?” Sam asked Chris. “He was really looking forward to meeting you.”  
    Chris scrunched his brow together, trying to think of any Jacob’s he met. “Um…I’m not sure.”  
    Sam looked worried. “Can we double check before you guys head out? He’s one of our newer patients and he’s having a difficult time adjusting to everything.”  
    Sebastian gave her a kind smile and a nod. “No problem. Let’s go check and see how Jacob’s doing.”  
    Samantha led the three actors and Scott towards Jacob’s room. She smiled and said hello to all of the residents by name. Chris was genuinely intrigued to meet a girl who thought about other people so often. This was not a character trait he found in the women he met in L.A.   
    They all walked through winding corridors and multiple patient rooms. They passed by some rooms which contained a few patients who already got to meet the movie stars. Those kids came running to the door, ear to ear, smiling and waving. Finally, Sam stopped at a room with a skateboard poster on the door. It was partially open, so Sam knocked. She held up her hand to keep the three from entering the room just yet. The three actors could hear Sam’s conversation with the young boy.  
    “Hey Jacob! How are you feeling, buddy?”  
    The small boy perked up at the sight of Samantha. “I’m alright.” He forced a smile, obviously not feeling one hundred percent. “I’ve not thrown up too much today.”  
    “That’s awesome, Jacob! I’m glad that this round is going better than the last round.” She smiled warmly at him. “Do you think you are feeling up to having a few visitors?” she asked.     Jacob gave her a confused look and shrugged. “Who would want to come visit me?” he asked in reply.   
    “Oh, just a few new friends of mine.” she said softly. Then she turned her attention towards the door and spoke a little louder this time. “You guys can come in now.”   
    Jacob’s eyes lit up when he realized who was walking into his room right now.  
    “Jacob?” Chris asked. “I’m—“  
    “You’re Captain America!” he turned his attention towards Mackie “And you’re the Falcon! Does your suit really fly?” He was definitely feeling better now. He cocked his head to the side. “You’re the Winter Soldier,” he said to Sebastian, “I’m trying to figure out if you are a good guy or a bad guy.” The actors chuckled as the boy continued on about how much he loved the movies and their characters. He suddenly paused for a moment and turned his attention towards Samantha. “Wait. These are really your friends?” he demanded.  
    Sam laughed. “Yes. Sebastian and Chris even came and visited me at my other job, if you can believe it.”  
    “At the bar?” he asked.   
    “Yes, Jacob, at the bar.”  
    “Did you guys get drunk?” the boy asked innocently.  
    “Jacob!” Samantha scolded, unable to keep from smiling at him. Chris and Sebastian laughed “You are too young for that kind of talk. And no, to answer your question, we did not get drunk.” She shook her head. “I should have never told you where my second job was.”  
    “I still don't believe that they are your friends.”   
    She laughed. “Yeah, I don’t either.” Chris watched as she got closer to him, whispering, “I mean, I told them how you beat me at Mario Kart. Do you really think they’ll want to continue to be friends with me if they saw me drive.”  
    Jacob started laughing and shook his head.   
    “Wait…Mario Kart?” Sebastian asked. “You play Mario Kart?” he asked Jacob.  
    Chris’s ears perked up. “I love Mario Kart!” he exclaimed. “Jacob, can we have a race?”  
    The little boy nodded, pointing towards where controllers were sitting out on an end table. “Are you guys any good?”  
    Samantha smiled from ear to ear watching Jacob get so excited from meeting these actors. Mackie, Sebastian, and Chris took on Jacob, who beat all of them pretty easily.   
    “Best two of three?” Chris asked.   
    “Your brother really isn’t a very good at losing, is he?” Samantha whispered to Scott.  
    “I heard that!” Chris muttered, playfully annoyed.   
    “Nope,” Scott replied.  
    Jacob came in second to Chris during the second round. For the third round, Sebastian handed Scott his controller and the two traded places.  
    “Intense kid.” Sebastian said with a smile. “Thanks for making sure we got to stop in and see him.”  
    “Thank you for being OK with staying a little longer.” Samantha replied. She gave a small grin and then turned her focus to the game at hand. When she started cheering for Jacob, Chris pulled into the lead.  
    “Guess you don’t have a distraction technique that would be appropriate for this situation, huh?” Sebastian joked.   
    Sam shook her head in reply.    
    Jacob spoke up. “Come on, Sam, distract him!”  
    Chris was caught off guard by the boy using a different name for Samantha. “Wait…who is Sam?” he asked out loud, mostly directing the question at Scott. His brother ignored him and kept racing.   
    “Probably just means me!” Mackie replied, grinning.  
    Jacob scoffed. “Some friends you have, Sam.” he said, “They don’t even know your name.” He crossed the finish line. “Oh look! I won again!”  
    “Nice driving, buddy!” Sebastian exclaimed. “You are really good at this game!”  
    “Thanks” Jacob said, grinning. “It was awesome meeting you guys. Want to play again?”  
    “Maybe another time, Jacob.” Samantha replied. “These guys need to go grab something to eat.”  
    “We’ll try to stop by again before we leave town, ok, Jacob?” Chris asked. “It was awesome meeting you, buddy!”  
    Jacob got to get high fives from everyone while Sam waited in the hallway with Scott.  
    “Shit.” Scott mouthed. “That was close!”  
    Samantha rolled her eyes. “I don’t like that you’re trying to be so secretive. You are making this into a way bigger deal than it needs to be. Just be honest with your brother.”  
    Her friend shook his head, smiling. “Nope! You two are meant to be together. This is happening.”  
    Samantha gave him a stern look. “Hang on, Cupid.”  
    “What did you just call him?” Chris asked, only hearing the last word of their conversation. “Cupid?”  
    Sam shook her head. “No. I called him….stupid.”  
    Chris shook his head. “I swear I thought you called him Cupid, which wouldn’t really surprise me at all, seeing as he is continuously inserting himself into other people’s relationships.”  
    Sam felt her cheeks redden, convinced Chris was onto the set up for the following day. Her thoughts were interrupted.   
    “So, where do we want to eat?” Mackie asked.  
    Chris checked his watch and tapped his brother’s arm with his hand. “Actually, I promised my mom we would go to her place for family dinner tonight with my siblings. We should probably find Mom and find out what the plan is for dinner tonight.”  
    Scott nodded. “Alright.” He turned towards Samantha. “You know you’re always welcome, right?”  
    Sam nodded. “Yeah. I know. Thanks.”  
    “She’s welcome at family dinner?” Chris asked abruptly. He turned towards Scott. “Usually family dinner is for family only, right?”  
    Samantha winced involuntarily. Chris’s words stung. When he wasn’t in town, Sam and Scott were inseparable. She really considered him to be like a brother to her.   
    Scott looked at his friend with concerned eyes. She shook her head as if to say “Don’t worry about it.”  
    “Well, if you two are headed to family dinner, that means Sebastian and I are on our own.” Mackie said, turning his attention towards Samantha. “Would you care to join us, Samantha?”  
    She took a deep breath. ‘Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you for the invite. I’m just going to go change quickly and I’ll be back out, ok?” She hurried away down the hall. Scott excused himself and followed her into an empty room.  
    “Are you ok?” Scott asked his friend. She was sniffling, stripping off her overalls and putting on a new pair of cropped jeans. She quickly took off her tank top and replaced it with a navy blue scooped neck short sleeved shirt.   
    “I’m fine.” Sam replied, stuffing all of her clothing into her bag.  
    “Sam.” Scott said.   
    She turned and looked at him. “Wait, do I get to be Sam now? Or am I still supposed to pretend that I’m someone else?” Her friend looked taken aback by her abruptness. “Look, I’m sorry. I must be hungry from working all day.” She took a deep breath. “Go have fun with your family. Just text me later, ok?”  
    She turned on her heel and headed back down the hallway.


	16. Annoyed at a Misunderstanding

Meanwhile, Sebastian, Chris, and Mackie were left in the hallway.  
    “You ok, man?” Mackie asked him. “You seem a little on edge.”  
    Chris shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I’m really tired of my family constantly trying to get me to settle down. Now Scott is inviting his friends to family dinner specifically to try to be a match maker.”  
    Sebastian raised his eyebrows. “Wait. Do you think Scott trying to hook you up with Samantha?”  
    “Yeah.” He let out a sigh. “Just one trip, I’d like to be able to do my own thing and not worry about going on blind dates.”  
    His friend and costar nodded. “Well, of all people to get hooked up with on a blind date, Samantha would be a good one.” He smiled warmly, thinking about how fun it was to hang out with this girl. He turned to Chris. “Have fun at family dinner. Maybe we can meet up later?”  
    Chris nodded. He waved to them as he headed out towards the front office to wait for Scott.  
    “What kind of food are we in the mood for, gentlemen?” Samantha asked. “Chinese, Italian, Sandwiches? Sit down or take out?”  
    Mackie and Sebastian looked at each other. Sebastian scrunched his face on one side as Mackie seemed to weigh the options.  
    After no one replied, Samantha decided to add another option. “Or, if none of that sounds good, I can whip up something at my place.”  
    Mackie’s eyebrows flew up on his forehead as he nodded enthusiastically. “If you can cook, I definitely am voting for that!”  
    Samantha laughed. “Try not to get too excited. I can only cook pretty decently.”  
    “We are fine with decent, believe me.” Sebastian assured her.   
    “Alright. It’s settled. Let’s head to my place.”


	17. Truth Comes Out

Family dinner was something that Lisa Evans loved hosting at her home in Sudbury. Being able to have her entire family, including Chris, around one table really filed her heart with joy. Now that her daughters, Carly and Shanna, were married with kids, the house became filled with laughter, conversation, and memories. When Chris wasn’t in town, usually it was Samantha who sat in his spot at the table. Lisa felt a fondness for Scott’s friend, especially after being able to spend more time with her one on one. Samantha was always asking to help, often bringing her own dishes to share at family dinner. Her grandchildren, Miles and Stella in particular, were infatuated with her since she would get on the floor and play with them every time they asked her. Lisa could tell that Samantha loved those kids as if they were her own niece and nephews.  
    Chris was in the family room watching TV when his sister Carly showed up at their childhood home. With her three kids and husband, she entered the house in a flurry of excitement, ready to see her younger brother for the first time in a while.  
    “Hey you!” she exclaimed. “Look, Miles, It’s Uncle Chris!”  
    The little boy ran up to his uncle and gave him a huge hug. “Hi Uncle Cwis” Miles exclaimed. “Are you excited for family dinner?”  
    “Sure am, buddy!” his Uncle exclaimed.  
    Carly glanced around the room then gave a confused look to Scott. “No Sam today?”  
    Chris let out a dramatic sigh. “You too?” he demanded. “This is ridiculous.” He got up in a huff and walked into the kitchen.  
    Carly narrowed her focus on her youngest brother. “What the heck is he talking about?” she asked.  
    Scott shrugged. “Chris being Chris, I guess.”  
    “Sam always comes to family dinner.” His sister said. “I’m just surprised that she’s not here.”  
    “Yeah,” he replied, following his older brother into the kitchen where he was halfway into the fridge for a beer.  
    “You need to stop, dude.” Chris exclaimed, cutting Scott off before he could say anything. “Just for once, I’d like to not be set up with someone, especially while I’m home with my family.” He took a swig of the beer. “Family dinner is off limits.”  
    Scott rolled his eyes. “First of all, you just need to get over yourself. Not everything is always about you.” Chris scoffed at the comment, sipping more of his beer.  His brother continued. “Just so you know, Samantha has been invited to every family dinner when you aren’t in town. She needs family and good people around her. It’s not up to you who can and cannot come, especially when everyone here loves her as if she were a part of this family.” Chris was taken aback, holding his beer.  
    “What do you mean, she needs people around her?”  
    Scott held his hands up in defense. “I’m not getting into that right now. That’s her story to tell. I invited her to family dinner because that’s what mom wanted too. Miles loves hanging out with her. Carly and Shanna love her. It’s really just you who has a problem with it.”  
    Chris narrowed his focus on his brother. “You mean to tell me you weren’t trying to set me up with Samantha.”  
    Scott’s expression was one of pure defeat. “Ok, maybe I think you and Sam would be good for one another.” He put his hands up in defense.  “That’s why I invited her to the game tomorrow.”  
    His brother’s eyes grew big as he jumped into defending himself to his younger brother. He pointed at Scott with a frustrated look in his eyes. “That’s what I—“  
    Scott held up one hand and stopped Chris from saying another word. “No, I said I invited her to the game tomorrow as a way for you two to get to know each other. Family dinner is something else completely.” He looked for the right words, not wanting to say too much. “It has absolutely nothing to do with you.”  
    Chris sat silently for a moment, absentmindedly peeling the label from his beer bottle. “Why didn’t you just tell me that Samantha and Sam were the same person?” he said cautiously.  
    Scott sighed. “Because I knew you would react negatively knowing I invited her to the game to get to meet you.” He chuckled. “I know you won’t admit that I’m right, but I know you find Samantha interesting. She’s totally your type.”  
    Chris didn’t reply as he took another swig of his beer. Samantha had been fun to hang out with so far. She challenged Chris at the bar, unafraid to show who she really was. She was creative, which Chris really enjoyed seeing today at the Haven. She cared about making sure Jacob got to meet him.  
    Scott could tell his brother was thinking about his friend, even if he wouldn't admit it. “I mean, she’s way more fun to be around than those Hollywood chicks you meet in L.A.”  
    Chris grinned as he took another swig of his beer. “Shad-up.” he said, shaking his head. Unfortunately for him, Scott was exactly right. He found himself really wanting to get to hang out more with this girl. He was definitely in trouble.


	18. Hanging at Home

“That was so good, Samantha.” Mackie said. “You’re going to make some guy very happy one day.”  
    She looked offended. “Yes, because that’s my life goal.” She shook her head.  
    Sebastian laughed out loud, pushing his plate away. “Well, it’s always important to have goals.”  
    Sam grabbed her plate and then reached for the other two. “I’m glad I could provide you guys a home cooked meal. Even though chicken and rice is really not very gourmet.”  
    Sebastian ran his hand through his brown hair as Anthony picked up his plate and handed it to her. “We appreciate it. It’s not too often we get to eat in places other than hotels and restaurants.”  
    Mackie stood up and headed over to the couch. He plopped down, making himself comfortable. His feet went up on the coffee table as he grabbed a remote. “This is really amazing, Samantha. Thanks for letting us come hang out.” He pushed the power button, tuning it to ESPN.   
    “It’s really no problem.” Samantha assured him. “You guys are fun people to hang out with.” She grabbed the plates and headed over to the sink to start cleaning up.   
    Sebastian followed her, leaning against the counter. “It’s really refreshing to get to hang out with someone who isn’t trying to be nice in order to get something out of it.” Sebastian said.   
    She gave a shocked look. “How often does that happen?” she asked.  
    His face was solemn. “More than you’d like to think.” He watched as she put the plug into the sink, turn on the water, and start to add dishes. Samantha removed her watch and Sebastian noticed a small tattoo of the name “Noah” on her wrist. “Who’s Noah?” he asked.  
    “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She asked, coyly. “I’ll tell you something I bet you won’t believe.”  
    Sebastian’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”  
    “I’ve never seen the Winter Soldier.”  
    “What?!” Sebastian exclaimed. He was in shock, especially since she was such good friends with Scott. “Why not?”  
    She shrugged as she washed a few of the dishes. “Just never got around to it when it was in theaters and then got too busy to rent it.”  
    Sebastian had a huge grin on his face. “Well, then, we will just have to change that, won’t we? I’ll even help you with these.” He grabbed a towel to dry off the dishes Samantha had finished washing. “Mackie. Get in here!” he shouted, sounding upset, still drying.  
    Mackie appeared a few seconds later. “What’s up, Seabass?’ he asked.   
    Sebastian looked at him as if something was truly wrong. “Samantha just shared something truly devastating with me.”  
    His costar looked concerned. His comedic demeanor left him completely. “What?”  
    “She…has never…” Sebastian looked upset, pausing for dramatic flare. “seen our movie.”  
    Anthony’s facial expression changed from concern to shock. “Say what?” he turned to Samantha. “You cannot be serious.” She nodded, confirming Sebastian’s previous statement. Mackie scrunched his face together, giving her a side-eye glance. “You know this needs to change, right?”  
    She laughed. “Yes, I’m getting the feeling we are going to be having a movie night here.”  
    “Mo-vie night!” Sebastian said in a sing-song voice, clearly very excited by this thought. He punched the air above him with his fists. “And I’m super excited to get to watch you watch us.”  
    Samantha paused and gave a confused look. “That doesn't sound very appropriate.”  
    Mackie waved his hand at her. “I know what he is trying to say, even though he’s failing terribly at it. We never get to see people appreciate our craft for the first time.”  
    “Ah, gotcha.” she replied. “That sounds way better.”   
    So it was settled. The three of them would be enjoying their own personal movie night of watching The Winter Soldier. Sebastian and Samantha sat at either end of one of the couches while Mackie laid across the other couch by himself. “Let’s pop some Winter Soldier cherries!” he exclaimed.   
    “You two really have a way with words, you know that?” She pulled her legs up in front of her, trying to get comfortable.   
    Samantha was completely focused on the movie. She laughed at all of the small jokes from Chris and the quick wit of Anthony. She felt Sebastian’s eyes on her during different parts. She would glance at him sideways, sometimes hitting him with a pillow. “Stop watching me for my reactions. You’re going to give me a complex!”   
    He grinned widely and turned back to the movie. Sam realized it wasn’t worth the effort and tried to ignore him.   
    When Sebastian first appeared on screen as the Winter Soldier, Sam’s face went to a shocked expression. “That’s you?” she demanded.  
    He laughed, nodding. “He looks a little different now, doesn’t he?” Mackie pointed out. “Aren’t you glad he cut some of that scraggly hair off?” Samantha nodded.   
    It was kind of weird for Sam to think of these guys as big Hollywood actors now that she had hung out with them personally. She did a bit of a double take while watching Chris in his wife beater talking to Scarlett Johannson on screen. She shook her head, dismissing the idea that she would ever get to see him like that in person. “Yeah right, Sam” she thought to herself.   
    During the fight scene between Sebastian and Chris, Sam found herself holding her breath. Captain America refusing to fight his friend and Bucky just looking lost. It was heartbreaking. She was beginning to understand why people became diehard fans of this Marvel Universe.   
    At the end of the movie, Sebastian turned towards Sam to see her reaction. “So? What did you think?”  
    “Wait. Bucky pulled him out at the end and just kept walking. Why didn’t he kill Cap? He totally had the chance!” She exclaimed. “And now he’s just roaming around the world not knowing who he is?” She turned towards Mackie. “Please tell me they fix your suit.” Mackie gave a hearty belly laugh.  
    “I think we may have made her into a fan, Seabass.” Mackie said with a sense of pride.   
    “I gotta say,” Sam said, “It’s really difficult to think of you guys as big hollywood actors. I knew you as real people before you showed me the movie. I think it made me appreciate your talents more.”  
    “Aw,” Sebastian said. “That’s awesome! We love being real people.”  
    She playfully punched him in the arm. “You know what I mean.”  
    “No, we get it,” Mackie said. “You got to hang out with us and it made you forget about what we do for a living.”   
    Sam nodded, grabbing the DVD remote. “Now for my favorite part of every movie. The bloopers.”  She laughed out loud at all of the scenes of Mackie saying “Cut the check!” and found Chris absolutely adorable attempting to break a lock and having it not work.   
    “You don’t need the blooper reel when you get to hang out with the real thing.” Mackie said. “We are way cooler in person.”  
    Sam nodded. “I agree!” She checked the time and it was still early. “Can I get you guys anything? I mean, I have alcohol.”  
    Sebastian nodded. “I’ll have whatever you make for yourself.” he said with a grin. “I trust you.” She smiled as she got up to go make some drinks.   
    Sebastian’s phone buzzed, notifying him of a text message. “Chris is done with family dinner. He wants to know if we want to meet up somewhere.”  
    “Man, we are always going somewhere.” Mackie said. “I’m enjoying just getting to hang out and relax.”   
    His friend gave a disappointed look. “Yeah, me too. I don’t want to ditch Chris though.”  
    “Maybe we don’t have to.” Mackie replied. “Tell him to meet us here.”


	19. Speaker Phone Embarrassment

Sebastian cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes as he replied. “Don’t you think we should ask Sam before inviting over people?”  
    “Nah,” he replied, “Sam’s cool. I’m sure she won’t mind.”  
    “Won’t mind what?” Sam asked, bringing back three glasses filled with clear liquid.  
    Sebastian turned to her. “Mackie wants to invite over Chris to hang out.”  
    Mackie nodded. “I like it here. I’m looking forward to a night of just chilling out.”  
    Sam shrugged. “You can invite him, but I’m not sure he’ll want to come over.” The guys gave her confused looks. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Chris wasn’t really thrilled about Scott inviting me to family dinner.”  
    Mackie swatted that thought away. “Don’t worry about that. Let’s just invite them over. It’ll be fun!”  
    Sebastian texted Chris back, telling them they were at Samantha’s place. Meanwhile, Sam got a text from Scott, asking if it really was OK that they come over. Sam called him back.  
    “Hello?” Scott said. “Is this my best friend calling?”  
    “You tell me.” Sam replied.   
    “Are you sure it’s ok we come over?”  
    “If you guys want to come over, you are more than welcome. However, if Chris doesn’t want to, don’t you dare force him.” she said.   
    “Does that sound like something I’d do?” Scott asked.  
    “Um…yes, it sounds EXACTLY like something you’d do.” She let out a laugh. “How was family dinner?” she asked.  
    “It was good. Weird without you there.” Scott replied. “Carly says hi.”  
    “Oh, let her know I say hi back. How’re the kids?”  
    “Good. Miles wants you to come to his T-Ball game next week.” Scott could tell his friend was smiling through the phone.   
    “I will most definitely be there.”   
    Scott heard some chatter on the other end of the phone. “What’s going on at your place?”  
    “Oh, you know, just entertaining some movie stars.” Sam joked. “They made me watch The Winter Soldier.”  
    “It’s about time!” her friend exclaimed. “And what did you think?”  
    “It was so good! I really want to go see Civil War now. Those fighting scenes were awesome. I’m so glad Sebastian cut his hair.” She got quiet as if to shield her conversation from her guests. “And, seriously, you didn’t tell me your brother would have only been wearing a wife beater in part of it. Good lord. He must be CGI-ed because no one looks that good in real life. I would have watched it way sooner to get to see that body!” Samantha heard a chuckle from the other end of the phone. “Oh my god, Scott. Please tell me I’m not—“  
    “On speaker phone?” her friend asked. “Oh yea, you totally are.”   
    “Remind me to kick your ass when you get here.” she said. “Hi Chris.”  
    “Hey Sam.” he replied. ”Are you sure it’s ok we crash your party?”  
    “Absolutely. Can you guys bring some snacks and beer? We can play cards or something here.”   
    Scott was grinning ear to ear. “OK, bestie, see you shortly!”  
    Sam hung up, embarrassed at how that conversation went. She busied herself in the kitchen, pulling out bottles of alcohol. About 15 minutes later, Scott let himself and Chris into her apartment.   
    “We come with snacks!” Scott exclaimed. “And beer!”  
    “Party time!” Sebastian replied, doing a little happy dance. He took out his phone and started taking pictures.   
    Chris came up next to Samantha, nudging her arm gently with his elbow. “Hey,” he said.  
    She smiled and looked up at him. “Hey.”  
    He looked like he wanted to say something, then thought against it, then decided to. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Sam nodded, not moving. “I mean, in private.”  
    Sam felt her stomach drop. She nodded and motioned toward her bedroom, away from the now rowdy group of men in her living room.   
    She led Chris down the hall, past pictures of Sam with different members of his family. He stopped at a photo of her playing with his nephews. He couldn’t help but smile.   
    “Look- I’m sorry about earlier.” Sam said, cheeks flushed. “I didn’t know I was on speaker phone.”  
    Chris gave a confused look. “Why are you apologizing?” She shrugged her shoulders and he continued. “I actually wanted to apologize to you.”  
    Now it was Samantha’s turn to give a confused look. Chris took a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his face, fingers in his beard.   
    “I’m sorry that my stupidity kept you from family dinner.” He looked as if he was trying to find the right words. “My brother has a track record of doing some crazy things to get me to hook up with some of his friends.”  
    “I definitely believe that.” Sam replied. “Scott gets these ideas that he wants people together and then he doesn’t stop until it actually happens.”  
    He nodded. “Yeah, I really thought he was inviting you to family dinner to force you onto me. I didn't realize you always come to family dinner.” He gave a look that seemed to say that he wanted to say more.   
    She cut him off before he could. “Your family is wonderful. I love each of your siblings. And, honestly, Chris, I was just happy to get to meet you, seeing as you are my best friend’s brother. He speaks so highly of you.”  
    Chris smiled with a slight sparkle in his blue eyes. “He has been talking about you nonstop since I got here.”  
    “I feel like we started out on the wrong foot.” Sam said.   
    Chris nodded. “Yeah. Damn that Scott.”  
    Samantha let out a laugh. “That reminds me I have to kick his ass for putting me on speaker phone.” Her cheeks blushed. “I’m so embarrassed.”  
    He gave her a lopsided grin. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ll do something embarrassing at some point.”   
    “Let’s hope so, I mean, we do have that karaoke performance from the other night.”  
    Chris groaned. “How about we start over, clean slate?”   
    She nodded, reaching out to shake his hand. “Hi. I’m Samantha, my friends call me Sam.”  
    “Hi Sam. I’m Chris.” He shook her hand and Sam tried to ignore the sparks she was feeling.  “It’s really nice to finally meet my brother’s best friend.”  
    “Likewise,” she said with a smile. “Could I interest you in an alcoholic beverage? I mean, I am a bartender as one of my side jobs.”  
    Chris raised his eyebrows. “Really? You don’t say!” She rolled her eyes at him, not expecting him to take their charade so far. “Why Sam, I’d love a drink.”  
    “Let’s go join the party, shall we?”   
    Chris and Sam headed back into the kitchen, where the guys had already cracked open some beers and Scott had retrieved some shot glasses.   
    “Samantha, I hear you have some mad bar tending skills.” Mackie exclaimed. “Care to whip us up some shots?”  
    “Coming right up!” She grabbed a shaker and started to pour her own shots. Scott hustled to the cabinet which housed Samantha’s games and he pulled out a few choices, including cards.  
    “Alright, what do we want to play?” He asked. “Euchre, Cards Against Humanity, Poker?”  
    Chris and Mackie’s ears perked up at the thought of a poker night, so they decided to play some Texas Hold ‘Em. It had been a regular activity in between takes during filming.   
    After she presented the shots to the guys, she connected her phone to the speaker system and got some music going. She opted for her drinking mix from college, consisting of O.A.R., D.M.B, and classic bar tunes. Mackie looked like he was truly enjoying himself. “Man, I have not gotten to hang out like this in FOREVER.” He looked at Sam.   
    “Yeah, you’re all too busy being big movie stars.” Scott replied.   
    Samantha scoffed. “What an unbearable life you lead.” Sebastian hummed in agreement, shoving some chips into his mouth.  
    “It’s too bad I wasn’t able to hang out with you guys at the bar the other night,” Mackie said. “Beer pong and karaoke are fun. However, this is definitely better.”  
    “Oh! Don’t worry!” Scott exclaimed. “We recorded both performances to be enjoyed again and again!” Chris flipped off his brother while Sam just laughed.  
    The remainder of the evening consisted of Samantha getting her ass handed to her in Texas Hold ‘Em. Normally, she would be getting upset at not winning hands. However, tonight she felt a sense of calm she hadn’t felt in a while. Scott was having an awesome time with his brother. Mackie looked super relaxed while Sebastian just kept grinning from ear to ear.  Every now and then Chris would make eye contact with her and smile, causing the butterflies in her belly to go into overdrive. There was no denying that Scott’s brother was an attractive man, however, she was more excited to have people around her. An apartment full of friends was just what Samantha needed to get her mind off of things. 


	20. Flashback

  
    When Samantha arrived at the hospital that day, Noah was scribbling rapidly on a torn out sheet of notebook paper.   
    “What are you doing? Writing a love note to one of the nurses again?”  
    Her brother frowned, shook his head, and kept frantically writing. Sam gave him a confused look and waited until he finally looked up at her.  
    “You gotta promise me something, Sam.” he said. He spoke softly in a low voice.  
    She looked concerned and swallowed the lump in her throat. “Anything.”  
    “I’m going to give you this piece of paper, and it’s your job to do everything on this list.”  
    She gave him a confused look as he continued speaking. “It’s important, Sam. These are things I want to be able to do, and if I don’t get out of here—“  
    She cut him off. “You will get out of here, Noah. You can’t talk like that.”   
    The 19 year old looked at his 17 year old sister with compassion. She wasn’t accepting of the newest reality of test results. He knew she was trying to stay positive, but he was getting tired of fighting.  
    “Sam, this is really important.” He urged her to take the paper.   
    Sam did not want to take the paper from her brother for fear that he would interpret it as her giving up on him. However, she could tell that this was something he really wanted her to do for him. Tears filled her eyes as she read over the list. She laughed at some of them. “Seriously? Tribe gear to Fenway park? Get high? Make out all night?”  
    Noah shrugged, feeling his sister’s anxiety begin to lessen at the sight of some of his bucket list items. “Those seem like they would be fun.”   
    “Well, once you get out of here, you’re going to be the one having all the fun.”  
    He forced a small smile and a nod, knowing that the likelihood of that happening was minuscule. 


	21. Go Tribe

“Are you ready yet?” Scott demanded, clearly annoyed at how long Samantha was taking to get ready for the baseball game.  
    “Hang on!” she replied quickly. She had spent the morning attempting to get her hair to cooperate into braided pigtails. She knew she would be an outcast at Fenway Park by supporting the opposing team, but she didn’t care. She was wearing her “I love CLE” t-shirt and rolled up jeans as she hustled out of her bedroom carrying her chuck taylor sneakers.   
    “You’re really going to wear Indians gear to Fenway?” he asked.  
    She nodded. “Yep! Number 3 baby!”   
    Her friend hummed to himself. “Your brother definitely had a sick sense of humor.”  
    She laughed out loud. “Yeah. He also didn’t care what anyone thought of him.”   
    “Are you holding up ok?” he asked. “We haven’t really gotten a chance to talk since Chris and the guys have been in town.”  
    She shrugged. “This time of year always sucks. It just sucks a tiny bit less as the years go by.” She thought for a moment about the shenanigans from the previous evening and let out a big smile and a stifled laugh. Scott gave her a confused look, so she shook her head. “I was just thinking about last night. It was nice to have a distraction like that. I really had fun.”  
    “I think everyone did!” Scott agreed. “I’m sure Sebastian’s Twitter and Instagram accounts are out of control this morning.”  
    Sam giggled. “Yeah, especially if he posts the selfies towards the end of the night.”  
    He smiled warmly, deciding to change the subject. “I’m glad you and Chris got a chance to talk and hang out.”  
    Sam’s cheeks flushed involuntarily. Her face turned mean. “If you ever put me on speaker phone again without my knowledge or consent, I swear to God, Evans.”  
    He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey- you didn’t give me a chance before you started gushing about how good Chris looked in a wife beater.”  
    Sam groaned, dropping her head into her hands. “Most embarrassing conversation ever.”   
    Scott’s expression turned serious. “I didn’t tell him anything about Noah.”  
    “Good!” she exclaimed. “That’s on a need to know basis.”  
    Scott let out a sigh, dreading this conversation with his friend. “Sam, I know you like your privacy—“  
    She shook her head. “No, it doesn’t have anything to do with privacy.” She began to wring her hands together. “It’s more like I enjoy not getting pity looks from everyone who knows about Noah, especially this time of year.” She sighed. “It took me close to a year to open up to you, Scott. Why do you think I’d automatically open up to your brother after 2 days?”  
    He shrugged in reply, then checked his watch. “We’d better get a move on. I told Chris we’d get there by 11:30.” Sam nodded as she finished tying her shoelaces.   
    When Sam and Scott arrived at the Evan’s family home, they were greeted by a large black van in the driveway.   
    “What is this? The secret service brigade?” Sam asked.   
    Scott grinned. “Looks like we can party it up and not have to worry about driving home!” he exclaimed.   
    “Very good call!” she replied, enthusiastically.   
    Chris was in the driveway talking with the driver. Mackie and Sebastian were each sipping on a cup of coffee wearing shades and baseball caps.  
    “Hey guys,” Samantha called. “Rough night?” She leaned in to hug Sebastian first and then Mackie.  
    Sebastian grinned. “The worst. You wouldn’t even believe it if I told you.”   
    Lisa stood on the porch, smiling at the excitement in her driveway. When Sam noticed her, she walked up and immediately hugged her. Lisa hugged her back, smiling.   
    Chris shook the driver’s hand and turned to greet his brother. He noticed his mom and Samantha having a quiet moment together on the porch. His mom had put both of her hands on either side of Samantha’s face and was talking quietly with her.   
    “Alright, are we ready to head over?” He asked. As the other guys headed into the van, Chris turned and headed towards the porch.  
    Samantha overheard Chris ask if they were ready. “I should go.” Samantha said. “Thank you, Lisa.”  
    “No problem, sweetie. I’m just glad you’re doing ok.”   
    “Everything ok?” Chris asked, watching her mother hug Samantha one more time.  
    His mother nodded. “Oh yes, sweetie.” She smiled brightly and looked between the two of them. “I’m just so happy both of you are getting to spend some time together.”  
    Chris gave a lopsided smile. “I know, ma.” He gently touched Sam on the shoulder. “You ready to go?” Sam nodded with a smile. They both said goodbye to Lisa and headed for the van.   
    “I see where Scott gets his cupid syndrome,” Sam said softly.   
    Chris let out a laugh and smiled at her. “Yeah…it’s definitely genetic.”


	22. Stroll Around the Park

“ _This_ is where we’re sitting?” Samantha asked, in shock. She was in one of the luxury suites with the guys. It had an air conditioned room with a balcony to be able to go out and watch the game. There was a waitress assigned to two of the suites who would be getting their orders.   
    Mackie put his arm around her shoulders. “Welcome to the big leagues, little lady.”   
    “Hey, Beautiful, could you get us started with a round of your best brews?” Sebastian asked the waitress. She blushed and nodded, quickly heading out to get his request.   
    “I’m going to go get some food.” Sam said, moving towards the entrance of their suite. “Anyone want anything?”  
    Chris looked confused. “Why would you go get food? There’s a waitress in our suite.”  
    “Yeah, I understand that,” she replied. “However, part of the appeal of this stadium is actually getting to walk around the stadium.”  
    He appreciated that response. “Care for some company?” he asked.   
    She smiled and shrugged. “Sure.” Chris let the guys know that they would be back and they headed around the bottom floor of the stadium. He was thankful for the baseball cap and sunglasses he was wearing, hoping to not draw too much attention to himself.   
    Chris was constantly looking over his shoulder to see if people were noticing them. Sam was blissfully unaware of anyone’s gaze. Instead, she looked like a kid in a candy shop as they looked at all of the Red Sox shirts and memorabilia.  
    It was only when they got to the food line that he realized what was on her shirt.   
    “Are you kidding me?” he asked. “You’re rooting for the opposite team?”  
    She nodded and shrugged. “Hometown.”   
    “You’re from Cleveland?” he asked, slightly cocking his head to the side, “I did not know that.”  
    She gave him a sideways glance as she took out her credit card. “There’s a lot of information you don’t know about me, Evans.”  
    “I’d like to know more.” he said with a lopsided smile. “Any other tidbits you’d like to share?”  
    She thought for a second. “Hm…My favorite color is blue.”  
    He got excited and animated, obviously exaggerating. “Me too!”  
    “I love dogs.”  
    “Oh my gosh! Me too!” he exclaimed. “I just rescued a dog from a shelter, actually.”  
    “Aw” Sam cooed, “What kind of dog is it?”  
    “Total mutt.” He fished his phone out of his back pocket. He pushed the home button with his thumb, displaying a photo of a light brown dog with floppy ears. He had prominent spots of white fur on his face, chest, and paws.  
    “Oh my goodness!” A smile quickly spread across her face. “He’s adorable.” she paused “Wait…he? She?”  
    “He,” Chris replied, confidently. “I named him Dodger.”   
    “Like after the baseball team?”   
    He chuckled. “No, after a Disney movie, actually.”   
    Samantha laughed at his answer. “You score points for creativity on that one.”  
    “Thanks,” he replied with a shy smile. “Do you have any siblings?”  
    Sam smiled brightly at him. “This is starting to feel like an interview, Evans.” She was thankful to change the subject. “Your turn to share some information.”  
    He gave a look of confusion and she continued.   
    “I don’t know much about you.” She gave him an encouraging nod. “Share something with me.”  
    He shrugged, still smiling at her. “I don’t know what to share.” He let out a deep breath. “Most girls already know a bunch about me.”  
    Her focus narrowed on him as she gave a stern look. “I am not most girls.” She said matter-of-factly. “Besides, what you do for a living isn’t who you are. All I know is that your family is amazing and you happen to have a kick-ass job.”  
    He was caught off guard. Whenever he met girls, he was the actor, Chris Evans. Now, with Samantha, he got to be himself first, who happened to be an actor. He couldn’t help but feel as if Scott had finally had a breakthrough with his matchmaking.  
    Sam’s face got serious as she looked past him. “Can you hang on one second?” she asked.  “I just want nachos if the line moves while I’m gone.” She handed him her credit card.  
    Chris gave a confused look. “What? Where are you going?”  
    She sighed, looking torn. “There’s just something I have to do, ok? I promise, I’ll be right back. Two seconds.”   
    Chris stood dumbfounded holding her credit card. He watched as she jogged over to a guy wearing Army fatigues in one of the other concession lines. She tapped him on the arm and he turned to look at her. She said something to him, using her hands to express herself. When she was done speaking, the man smiled and mouthed the words “thank you.” They shook hands and she quickly walked back to return to the line.  
    When Samantha got back in line, Chris continued giving an unsure look. “Who was that?” he asked. “Someone you know?”  
    “Nope.” she replied, taking back her credit card.  
    “Care to elaborate on what just went down?”  
    She gave an embarrassed shrug. “Just something I like to do.” There was a pause in their conversation as Sam debated how much she wanted to share with him. “Whenever I see someone in their military gear, I make a point of going over and thanking them for their service.”  
    Chris was caught off-guard. “You go up and thank every soldier you see in public?” he asked in astonishment.  
    Her cheeks turned somewhat red and she looked slightly uncomfortable. “Yeah. I mean, I try to.”  
    “That is.” He let out a breath, running his hand over the back of his neck. “Wow. I mean, That is fucking amazing, Sam.” Samantha wasn’t expecting that kind of a reaction. She smiled shyly at him. “I mean, I really thought it was Scott just trying to play you up as this unbelievable person. However, you really are exactly as my brother raves, aren’t you?”  
    She shrugged awkwardly. “I am who I am. If you think I’m awesome, that’s just bonus points.”   
    Slowly the line moved closer to the counter.   
    “Can I please have an order of nachos, 6 hotdogs, and a pretzel with cheese?” Chris asked. Then he quickly handed over some cash. When the food was delivered, Chris handed her the nachos.  
    “You didn’t have to do that, Chris.” Samantha said. “I don’t have any cash on me to pay you back.”  
    He shrugged with a grin. “Nah, it was nothing. No worries. It’s my pleasure.”  
    She smiled. “Well, thank you. You know, you’re not as bad as Scott has made you out to be.” she joked. He let out a loud chuckle.


	23. Who Gave Mackie a Selfie Stick?

They headed back towards their seats. When they returned to the booth, they met up with a group of Chris’s hometown friends in addition to Scott, Sebastian, and Anthony. After saying hello to the friends she knew, Sam took her nachos and sat in one of the seats to watch the game. Scott joined her shortly after.  
    “So?” he asked, his voice full of excitement. “How’s it going?”  
    She offered up her plate of nachos and he gladly stole some chips. “Good!” she exclaimed, smiling.  
    “Just good?” he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “I mean, you guys were gone a while.”  
    Samantha rolled her eyes. “Yes, Scott. We totally went down to the first floor, found an abandoned storage room and just ravaged each other sexually.”  
    “Man!” a voice exclaimed behind her. “I kind of wish I went for food with you now.”  
    “Seb, you couldn’t handle me.” Sam deadpanned, not even having to look up to know who was speaking.  
    He slid into the seat next to her and started to grab some of her nachos.  
    Sam turned towards Scott, glancing behind her. “You and I are the only two in this suite who do not prefer female genitalia.”  
    “Woah!” Anthony’s voice boomed over her shoulder. “I walked into the wrong part of that conversation!”  
    “This was supposed to be a guys day out, ya know.” Sebastian explained.  
    Sam’s face fell. “Oh…” She turned towards Scott and muttered softly “now I feel out of place.”  
    “No!” Seb exclaimed. He smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “We are all glad you are here.”  
    “Yeah, Sam.” Anthony said with a grin. “It wouldn’t be the same without you here.”  
    “Aw,” she replied with a girlie tone to her voice. “You guys are too sweet.”  
    “We are sweet but we are also hungry!” Anthony pointed at her tray of nachos. “Mind if I take a few of those?”  
    Sam lifted the tray of nachos up and over her head. Mackie enthusiastically took some.  
    Chris hung out with his buddies towards the back of the suite while Scott, Sebastian, and Mackie stayed in the seats around Sam to actually watch the game.  Sam loudly rooted for the opposing team even though everyone around her was rooting for the Red Sox.  
    During the third inning, the kiss cam came on and surveyed the crowd. It landed on different couples throughout the stadium. Sam was mid bite on a nacho when it landed on their booth. Scott and Sebastian were still next to her, so they both leaned in and gave her sloppy and dramatic kisses on her cheeks. Her expression turned to shock and she wiped her cheeks after the camera was off of them.    
    Sam and Scott got super excited with their cheering during the ketchup, mustard, and onion mascot race. Chris and his friends actually stopped their conversation to turn and laugh at how ridiculous they were acting.  
    The teams were neck-in-neck the entire game. At the end of the 6th inning, Sebastian and Scott both got up for the fourth or fifth time to get more to drink. Anthony scooted down to sit next to Samantha, leaving Scott’s original seat open.  
    When Scott headed to the back of the suite, he grabbed a beer and stood at the bar with Chris and his friends. He smiled at his brother, who just shook his head and grinned back at him.  
    “Having fun?” Chris asked.  
    “Of course!” Scott exclaimed. “What about you? Planning on another trip to the concession stand?” He raised his eyebrows at him, just as he had with Sam.  
    Chris’s smile grew involuntarily. “Sam’s great, man.”  
    Scott took a sip of his beer. “That she is.” He smiled and then motioned towards where he was sitting earlier. “I’m just really glad you both had a chance to meet and have a conversation.”  
    Chris looked down at his beer, peeling the label. He looked up at his brother with a cock of his head. “I really enjoy talking to her.”  
    “Mmhmm” Scott replied, continuing to sip his beer. “You should definitely talk to her more, then, don’t you think?”  
    During the 7th inning stretch, Sam and Anthony both belted out “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the top of their lungs. (Alcohol was definitely helping with confidence levels at this point.) After they were done singing, they both jumped up and began dancing to the “Jump On It” song together, reenacting the sketch from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. They both had super serious faces on and kept getting giddy when they actually did the jumping part. Everyone in their suite were getting a kick out of it.  
    Chris looked at Scott and said “Wish me luck.” He grabbed three beers and headed over to where Anthony and Sam were acting like fools. “Hey guys! I come bearing more refreshments.”  He took the seat next to Sam and leaned over to give Anthony his beer. When he was left with two beers, he smiled at Sam as he handed her one. “Quite some dance moves you got there.”  
    She grinned. “I mean, when you have the right dance partner, it’s easy, right?” She took the beer from his hand, accidentally brushing over his fingertips with hers as she tried to grab it. “Thank you, sir.” She held the beer up to him like a toast and then took a sip.  
    “You doing ok?” he asked.  
    She swatted off the request as if it was a silly question. “I’m totally fine. I’m great, even.”  
    Anthony saw someone in their booth had a selfie stick. He borrowed it and started to run around their suite taking pictures.  
    “Who the hell gave Mackie a selfie stick?” Sam demanded, taking another sip of her beer.  
    Chris laughed, eyes crinkling in delight at the situation. “Not a very smart person.” he joked.  
    Anthony jumped back into his seat next to Sam. “Smile!” he exclaimed, getting Chris and Sam in the shot. Chris leaned closer to Sam, putting his arm around the back of her chair.  
    “Hey Mackie, will you send that to me?” Chris asked after he finished taking the photo.  
    “Absolutely.” He stated.  
    Sam let out a fake pout. “I want a copy too!”  
    Anthony looked at her with disbelief. “Like I wouldn’t send it to you too.” he let out a playful huff “Do you really think you were going to last that much longer without giving me your number?”  
    She shrugged. When he was ready, she spouted off her number to him. Anthony sent the photo to both of them at the same time and both of their phones let out ringtones at the same moment.  
    Sam took her phone out first. “Aw!” she said, looking at the picture. “Aren’t we just the cutest?”  
    Chris motioned for her to hand him her phone. He removed his hand from the top of her chair and looked at the photo with a smile. He quickly went into the message and labeled his number for her. She was distracted, talking to Mackie about what other pictures he took, so she didn’t notice him messing with it.  
    When Chris handed her the phone back, he was smiling. She took it and smiled at the photo.  
    “You know what would make this day better?” Sam asked out loud. She paused for a moment to see if they would answer her rhetorical question. “Ice cream in one of those little helmet things!”  
    “I like the way you think, girl!” Mackie exclaimed. He waved over the waitress and asked her to bring over one of the large baseball helmets filled with different kinds of ice cream. The waitress seemed a little star struck and couldn’t stop looking at both Chris and Anthony.  
    Sam asked Anthony to borrow his selfie stick and she connected it to her phone. She told Anthony and Chris to make funny faces as she rapidly snapped multiple selfies of the three of them. Then she got up, letting the guys know that she’d be right back. She headed back towards the bar to get selfies with both Scott and Sebastian. When she leaned in to take one with Seb, he playfully pretended he was biting her cheek. Sam took a couple pictures of herself  with the stadium as the background. Then she pulled Scott’s arm to get him to follow her back to her seat to get more selfies with his brother. They continued taking funny pictures until the ice cream arrived.  
    Anthony took back his selfie stick and made Sam hold the helmet in her lap. She immediately went for the mint chocolate chip ice cream. Anthony and Chris started in on either side of the helmet.  
    “Ice cream is, like, the perfect food.” Chris said through a mouth full of vanilla.  
    Sam pulled the spoon from her mouth, eyes rolling back in her head. She nodded in agreement. “Yes. That may be the smartest thing you have said today.”  
    Scott grabbed Sam’s spoon out of her hand. She lifted the helmet over her head for him to have access to a flavor of his choice. Anthony got up and headed back to the bar to get some more beer. As Sam brought the helmet back in front of her, she knocked the spoon from Scott’s grasp.  
    “Oh no!” Sam exclaimed, partly joking. “This is horrible!” She looked over at Chris.  
    “Hey, I didn’t lose my spoon.” He said proudly. She stuck her lip out playfully at him. Then she started batting her eyelashes.   
    Scott couldn’t help but smile at this interaction. He could tell that Sam was intoxicated. This meant that her ability to flirt increased exponentially. Since Sam didn’t really drink all that often, Scott hadn’t seen this side of her recently.  
    “Puppy dog eyes too?” Chris asked with a chuckle.“You’re ridiculous.” He handed her the spoon. “Here.”  
    “Thanks!” she exclaimed. “We can totally share!”  
    He lifted an eyebrow at her as he gave her a questioning look.  
    “What?” she asked. She took a bite off of his spoon, then went back for more and held it up for him. When he gave her an unsure look, she spoke up with a mouth full of ice cream. “I don’t have cooties.”  
    He laughed and allowed her to put the ice cream into his mouth. For the rest of the helmet, they traded the spoon back and forth, watching the game and exchanging friendly banter. He was surprised at how comfortable he was feeling with this girl he had only known for a few days. She made him feel at ease and relaxed. He wasn't trying to put on a front with her. He could just be Chris. It was refreshing.  
    “God, you two are so sweet you’re giving me a toothache.” Scott muttered.  
    “Fuck you, bro,” Chris exclaimed.  
    “Yeah. Fuck you, bro,” Sam mimicked.


	24. Texting

The Indians ended up losing to the Red Sox 7-6. Sam wasn’t too disappointed considering she had about 5 beers and ice cream. Chris was absolutely at ease after being able to spend the day with his friends from home and his brother. He had really enjoyed being able to spend more time talking to Samantha and getting to know her. He lost count of the number of beers he consumed, but by the end of the game he was definitely feeling buzzed.  
    They all got into the van to head back home after the stadium cleared out. Everyone had their phones out on the way home, checking social media and attending to text messages received during the game. Sam was on Facebook when a text message came over her phone.  
   _Favorite Evans Brother: “You may be the cutest loser in here.”_  
    A smile spread across her lips as she saw who it was from. She decided that two could play at this game. _“Thanks, Scott!”_ she replied.  
     _Favorite Evans Brother: “Try again.”_  
 _Sam: “Oh…sorry…it said favorite Evan’s brother…I assumed it was Scott.”_  
 _Favorite Evans Brother: “Ha Ha”_  
    “Hey guys…want to go out somewhere?” Scott asked.   
    “Hell yeah!” Mackie exclaimed. “The night is still young!”  
    “What do you want to do?” Chris asked the group. “Restaurant? Bar?”  
    “Bowling?” Sam suggested.  
    “Bowling!” Sebastian exclaimed. “Now that’s something we haven’t done in forever.”  
    “And, if we go now, the crowd will probably be 60 and up.” Scott laughed.   
    “Now, I don’t know how good at bowling we will be after drinking so much,” Mackie added, “But it definitely would be entertaining!”  
    “Please tell me I can take pictures of you guys in bowling shoes,” Sam pleaded.  
    “I’m sure that can be arranged,” Seb replied.   
    “Woohoo!” She exclaimed. She, also, was definitely feeling buzzed and her courage to speak her mind tended to come out more.  
    She texted Chris: _Are you going to be as sore of a loser this time when I kick your ass in bowling?_  
    He smiled, looking up at her after he read it.   
     _Favorite Evans Brother: I have a feeling I’m going to be the one kicking ass tonight._  
 _Sam: Kicking ass and taking names, huh?_  
 _Favorite Evans Brother: You know it._  
 _Sam: We’ll see, Cap._


	25. Bowling

The van pulled up at a local bowling alley soon after they decided to go. Scott’s prediction of an older crowd was correct, which helped to put the celebrities at ease of being recognized.  
    Chris headed to the bar as the others went to get equipment and head to their lanes.   
    “Scott, don’t forget to put your fingers in the holes!” Sam shouted. “Gotta make sure they fit right.”  
    Scott grinned at her. “I always do!”  
    She squinted at him and made a face as if she tasted something sour. She had a feeling they were being obnoxious, but at this point in her stage of intoxication, she didn’t really care. She turned her attention towards the rack of bowling balls. She chose a glittery pink ball and headed over to their lane with her shoes.   
    “Alright!” Mackie exclaimed. “Let’s get this party started!”   
    “I hope you all are ready to lose!” Sebastian exclaimed. “We Romanians are great at bowling.”  
    “Yeah, we’ll see Seb.” Chris replied, bringing over two pitchers of beer and some plastic cups.  
    “This is probably the fanciest thing you guys have done this weekend,” Sam said, taking one of the pitchers from his hand.   
    “Hey now, it may not be fancy, but it is going to be fun!” He gave her a cheesy grin as he handed her the stack of cups. She began pouring the beers into the different cups then handed them out. “Look at you, Miss Bartender.”  
    She smiled. “Yeah, it’s like I’ve done this before or something.” After she was done passing out the beers to Scott, Mackie, and Seb, she handed a glass to Chris. “Good luck, Evans. You’re gonna need it.” She held it up for him to “cheers” her plastic cup.  
    He grinned at her, tapped her cup with his, and then took a sip of his beer. “Yeah, we’ll see.”  
    Everyone enjoyed themselves while attempting to bowl while intoxicated. There were many comments about blue balls and other innuendoes from both the men as well as Sam. She loved hanging out with guys, especially while drinking, since she liked being able to say inappropriate things.  
    Sam really liked throwing the guys off of their game by making her inappropriate comments at the most inopportune times for them. “How does it feel putting your fingers into holes that thousands of men have been in?” she asked while Chris was mid-backswing of his shot.   
    He heard her and was caught off guard, his ball landing in the gutter. The guys were laughing loudly as he pointed at Sam. “Just wait for your turn.”  
    She grinned proudly at Chris’s response. Scott elbowed her and motioned towards his brother. “How much have you had to drink?”  
    She showed her teeth in her smile of a response. “Not really sure at this point, Scotty.”  
    “You two seem to be getting cozy,” he pointed out.   
    She rolled her eyes. “I’m just trying to throw him off of his game, that’s all.” She glanced over where Chris was finishing his throw. “He gets so angry when he doesn’t win. It’s fun messing with him.”  
    Chris came over and sat down next to Sam, putting his arm around the back of the bench behind her. “You are such a cheater.”  
    “Yeah, I’m such a cheater,” she replied. “You’re just mad that I’m throwing you off of your game.” She elbowed him playfully in the ribs.  
    “You really are.” He said, absentmindedly running his thumb against her shoulder.   
    Scott eyed the both of them. It was obvious that they were both feeling the effects of the copious amounts of alcohol. Sam was extra flirty while Chris was clearly into her. He always sat near her and his eyes never seemed to stray from her.   
    “Your turn, bro,” Chris said, not removing his arm from behind Sam. As Scott walked up to make his shot, Sam just smiled as she watched. “What? No inappropriate comments for Scott’s turn?”  
    She shook her head. “Nah, I can beat him fair and square.” She turned to look at him “You, on the other hand…” She tried to keep a straight face.  
    Chris chuckled, his eyes sparkling. He moved his face a little closer to hers. “What about me?” His eyes darted between her eyes and her lips.   
    “You, sir, are trouble.” Her eyes connected with his for a brief second as he broke away to look back at her lips.  
    “Sam.” Scott called. “Your turn!”  
    Sam heard Chris give an annoyed sigh as if their moment had been ruined. She jumped up, turning to Chris, “To be continued.”  
    She passed Scott on the way up to get her ball and take her turn. Scott took her newly vacated seat next to his brother.   
    “Sorry, did I interrupt something?” Scott asked with a devious grin. He knew Chris would never soberly admit that Scott was right to attempt to play matchmaker.   
    “Yeah, you asshole, actually you did.” Chris sighed, taking off his hat. He ran his hands through his hair and put his hat back onto his head. “Damnit, Scott.” He gave a grin that showed his delight at the possibly of a moment with Sam. He glanced up to see Sam finishing her turn and beginning to talk to Mackie, whose turn was next and Sebastian. They all were laughing  together at something and Sam took Mackie’s spot next to Sebastian.   
    Chris pulled out his phone.  
     _Favorite Evans Brother: Why did you sit all the way over there?_  
    Sam felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and smiled at the new text message. She looked up at Chris who was watching her. She pointed to him, mouthed the word “you” then held her nose.  
    Chris laughed out loud and texted her again.   
     _Favorite Evans Brother: “Oh, I stink?”_  
    Sam texted back: _“You said it, not me.”_ She glanced up at him. He received the message and shook his head, looking up from his phone to match her gaze. 


	26. B-Double E-Double R-U-N

“That was so fun!” Sam exclaimed as they took the van back to the Evans’ childhood home.   
    “Great idea, Sam.” Mackie said, offering her a knuckle bump. “What a way to spend an evening.”  
    “Hey now, it’s not over yet!” Chris exclaimed. “The night is still young!”  
    Sebastian groaned. “Dude, we have been drinking for close to 8 hours. We need some food if we are going to keep going on like this.”  
    “Yes. Food!” Scott muttered. “A fan-fucking-tastic idea.”   
    They all agreed that pizza would be a great choice since they could order it and have it delivered to the house before they arrived.   
    Chris texted the order in through his phone then asked “Should we stop somewhere for more beer?”  
    Mackie’s eyes got wide. “How much beer do you still plan on drinking?”  
    He shrugged. “I don’t really have an amount in mind. I just know that my mom doesn’t keep a lot on hand.”  
    Scott nodded. “Yeah, if we want beer, we better stop on the way home.”   
    They had the van stop at a local wine and beer store. As it parked, Seb, Mackie, Scott, and Chris took off their seat belts and got out of the van. Sam was playing on her phone, not moving.  
    Scott ducked back into the van. “Are you coming?”  
    She shook her head, stifling a yawn. “Nah. I don’t think I can drink that much more.”   
    “You better not be going to sleep!” he almost shouted. “Samantha! You better stay awake!”  
    Chris overheard him and turned around. “She’s trying to go to sleep? Unacceptable!” He walked back towards the van.  
    “Oh my god, you two. I’m not trying to sleep. I just don’t want to go in the fucking liquor store!” she shouted back.  
    Chris turned towards Scott, tapping him lightly on the chest with the back of his hand. “You go on ahead and get me something good. I’ll make sure she doesn’t go to sleep.”  
    Scott gave him a look that seemed to say “Yeah, sure you will.” He went into the store with Seb and Mackie, leaving his brother and Sam in the van.   
    Chris crawled in and shut the door behind him. He sat next to Samantha, putting his arm around her shoulders on the seat behind her.   
    “You cannot go to sleep!” He said with a lopsided grin. He wrapped his hand around her shoulder, moving it with each word he said. “Too much fun to be had tonight!”  
    She turned her head to look at him. “I’ve already had a fun day, now I’m coming down off of my alcohol high.” She curled up on his shoulder and pretended to go to sleep.  
    “I thought I smelled bad.” Chris said, remembering her text from earlier.   
    “Eh, I’ll survive.” She replied.   
    He chuckled softly, letting out a long breath, as if he was debating which words to say next.  
    “You know, I was thinking about the game from today.”  
    “Which one?” she asked.   
    “The Sox game.” He tightened his arm around her slightly.   
    “Oh yeah. That game.” Sam replied, still curled up into his shoulder. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Damn he smells good” she thought to herself. “What about it?”  
    “I was just thinking that it was probably a good thing I wasn’t next to you when the kiss cam was on our suite.”  
    Sam blinked her eyes open, unsure of what she had just heard. She tried to not give a disappointed look. She sat up, uncomfortably, moving away from him. Clearly she had been reading the signs wrong.  
    “Yeah, that would have totally sucked.” she said softly, pulling out her phone.   
    He gave a confused look, unsure of why she was acting distant. He replayed what he just said in his head and his eyes got wide. “Oh my god, no, that’s not what I meant!” He muttered a swear word or two under his breath. “No, what I meant was, I’m glad it didn’t shoot our suite when I was sitting next to you because I probably wouldn’t have wanted to stop at just one.”  
    She was taken aback. “What?”  
    He shifted in his seat, turning to face her. He leaned forward slightly, looking back and forth between her lips and her eyes. “Which part did you not understand?” he asked, bringing his hand up to her cheek, pushing some of the stray hairs from her braid behind her ear.   
    She was suddenly drawn to looking at his lips and then into his eyes, just like he was doing to her. “The part where you sounded like you wanted to kiss me.”  
    He smiled, not saying anything, but rather nodding his head in agreement as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers.  
    He felt her soft lips move to fit his like missing puzzle pieces. She sighed slightly as he opened his mouth and caressed her lips with his. She also opened her mouth, gently sucking on his bottom lip.  
    Sam’s head was spinning. Why did this feel so good? When she felt him pull back slightly she opened her eyes.   
    “Yeah, I was right.” He was smiling now, eyes wide open. “I definitely want to keep kissing you.”   
    She playfully bit her lip, fighting the grin that was trying to spread across her face like an idiot.   
    At that moment, the van door flung open, and in came Seb, Mackie, and Scott each holding a different six pack. Sam instinctively moved away from Chris as to not let on that they were on the verge of a make out session.   
    “We’re ba-ack.” Mackie exclaimed. “Ready to get this show on the road?”  
    “Absolutely!” Chris replied. “Let’s go!”  
    He pulled out his phone, texting Sam. _“To be continued?”_  
    She glanced at her phone, shyly smiling at him as she nodded.


	27. Cheers

Back at the Evans’ house, pizza showed up within moments of the van arriving. When they all got out of the van, Sam immediately went and grabbed Scott’s arm as they went into the house. “Come with me.” she demanded.   
    Chris, Mackie, and Seb headed to the kitchen to put the beers away and grab plates and napkins.   
    Sam dragged Scott into the basement.  
    “What?” he demanded. “I’m hungry.”  
    Her eyes were big. “He kissed me.”  
    His eyes grew bigger. “What?!”  
    “Chris kissed me.” She repeated. “When you guys were in the store.”  
    “That man-whore,” Scott joked. He looked at her with almost a giddy smile on his face. “Did you enjoy it?”  
    Her smile grew really wide. “Um, yeah. Have you seen your brother? My god.”   
    Her friend chuckled. “Well, what did I tell ya? You two are made for each other.”  
    “Oh my god, Scott, if you guys hadn’t have come into the van—“  
    Scott threw up his hands to stop her. “I don’t need to know about my brother’s sex life.”  
    She smacked him on the arm loudly. “I wouldn’t have slept with him in the van, you goon.” She let out a deep breath. “But I definitely would have made out with him.”  
    Scott clapped his hands together in excitement. “I knew it! This is so exciting!”  
    She gave him a look full of worry. “This is such a bad idea.”  
    “Why?” he demanded. “Because you might actually get into a relationship with a good guy who isn’t an asshole?”  
    She rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a relationship, Scott. It was just a kiss.” She started up the stairs and stopped. She turned back around with a grin. “A really good kiss, though.”    
    Scott chuckled as he followed her up the stairs. In the kitchen, Lisa joined Chris, Seb, and Mackie around the boxes of hot pizza with various toppings.   
    “Hey Ma” Scott exclaimed, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek. “How was your day?”  
    Lisa smiled warmly. “Good! Your brother was just telling me about the game and bowling. Seems like you guys had a nice time today.”  
    Chris grinned, holding up his slice of pizza as a toast. “To the best day.” He looked right at Sam as he said it.


	28. Sober Up

Later that evening, after dinner and while they were all hanging out, Sam excused herself and snuck upstairs to use the restroom. Her head was spinning from the alcohol, and she knew Lisa kept headache medicine in the cabinet upstairs.   
    As she popped two pills into her mouth and took a sip of water, she closed her eyes for a moment. She looked at herself in the mirror and started taking her braids out. Her hair was wavy from being braided all day so she used her fingers to rake through it and tame it a bit. Her mind started to wander to thoughts of the van. She decided to pull it up into a messy knot on the top of her head when she was unable to make it look acceptable.  
    She opened the door to head back downstairs and she ran directly into Chris’s chest.   
    “Hey,” he said with a sly smile. “Fancy meeting you here.”  
    “Hey,” she replied. “Sorry, didn’t see you there.” She looked up at him before starting to walk past him.   
    “Wait.” She turned around as he grabbed her hand. He pulled her towards him, wrapping one arm around her waist as he dropped her hand and put his hand to her cheek. “Are you still wanting to continue our kiss from earlier?”  
    She felt her cheeks flush as she looked up at him. She shrugged her shoulder up as if she were indifferent to the idea, trying to not be overzealous. He pulled her close to him and leaned in to kiss her. As she matched her lips to his, his intensity increased. While last time they kissed he was gentle and taking things slowly, this time he was more forceful. His tongue made its way into her mouth, caressing her tongue and running over her lips. His hand stayed on her hip, fingertips finding their way to the hem of her shirt. With his other hand near her cheek, he ran his thumb over her cheek gently. She felt his fingertips touch her bare skin and she became covered in goosebumps from excitement. He felt the goosebumps appear on her skin and he let out a satisfied chuckle while he continued to kiss her. He broke away from the kiss to begin kissing her neck.   
    Sam shut her eyes for a moment as she relished in what was happening right now. Here she was, mid making out with Scott’s super hot brother. It seemed like a great idea at the time. She felt him press his lips to her neck moving down to her collarbone. His mouth was partially open, running his tongue over her skin. She felt her body involuntarily responding to everything he was doing. She scraped her fingernails lightly over his back and ran one hand through the back of his hair. He ran the tip of his tongue lightly over the area he had finished kissing and then lightly scraped his teeth over it. Sam let out a whimper and pushed her body as close to his as possible.   
    When Chris felt Sam push up against him, he let out a little noise which sounded like a muffled moan and broke away from her neck. He looked back into her eyes, which were now dilated and focused on him.   
    “I like kissing you.” He said in a husky whisper. “And I think you are enjoying it too.”  
    A small smile spread across her lips and she bit her bottom lip out of habit. She nodded in agreement and leaned in to kiss him again. This time her arms were wrapped around his neck and she took control, kissing him roughly and using her tongue to explore his mouth. Chris ran his hands over her sides, fingertips finding the skin between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans. They kissed for a few more minutes before Sam broke away.   
    Chris was grinning at her with a full, goofy grin as it took Sam a few seconds to compose her thoughts.  
    “This has been fun, Chris.” she said, moving back from him.   
    His look turned from confident to confused. “What do you mean, it has been fun?” he asked. “That sounds like you’re done kissing me.” He said with a pout.  
    She rolled his eyes. “Chris, I think if you want to kiss me again, we should wait until we are both sober.” He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to understand what she was saying. She thought for a moment before speaking up again. She placed her hands on his forearms. “First of all, I am not going to give it up to you in your mother’s house. If we continue on this path, that is what will definitely happen.” He smiled at her as she continued. “Second, I’m the one you’re making out with by default. I’m the only female you’ve been around all day.”  
    “Sam—“  
    “Let’s just say, I appreciate that your beer goggles made me look enough like the type of girl you usually make out with.”  
    His face let off an expression of hurt. “I’m not kissing you just because of beer goggles.”  
    “I’d like to hope you aren’t, however, if you wanted to make out with someone tonight, the odds were kind of in my favor considering the other candidates are all male.”  
    He let out a sigh. “Sam, this isn’t beer goggle related. I like you.”  
    She smiled. “Well, if you really like me, that means you’ll also like me when you’re sober.” She moved back from him and paused, looking at him again. She leaned in and gently kissed his lips, similar to how they kissed in the van. He kissed back, wrapping his arms around her. Their lips moved in sync and both closed their eyes to thoroughly feel everything that was happening.   
    When they broke away from the kiss, Chris rested his forehead against hers. “I swear it’s not beer goggles.”  
    She laughed, turning towards the door and heading back downstairs. “I sure do hope so, Evans.”


	29. Slumber Party

Sam decided to uber home that night since she needed to work in the morning. When she hugged everyone goodnight on her way out, and Sebastian insisted on taking the car with her. He said it could drive him back to the hotel after she was safe at home.  When the car pulled up to Sam’s place, Seb said he wanted to walk her to her door. He waved the driver on and said he would call when he wanted to get picked up.   
    “I could have made it to my door, Sebastian.” Sam said with a smile.   
    “I know,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye, “however, I am a gentleman. I always make sure my lady friends make it home.”  
    “Lady friend, huh?”   
    He shrugged. “You’re a lady and we’re friends, right? Therefore, you are my lady friend.”   
    She unlocked the door and Sebastian followed her inside. “Do you want some water?”  
He nodded a reply, plopping down on the couch. She had stopped drinking a while before, so she was starting to sober up. The guys, on the other hand, gave themselves a personal challenge to finish all of the beer they bought. Sebastian was currently in the very tipsy/borderline drunk stage.   
    Sam brought over two bottles of water and sat down next to Sebastian on the couch. He smiled as he took the bottle from her.   
    “Cheers, lady friend.” He said, hoisting his bottle up towards hers. She tapped the top of her bottle with his and took a small sip. He put his head back on the cushions and closed his eyes.   
    “Hey now, weren’t you going to get an uber back to the hotel?” He moved his head so it was resting on her shoulder. “I’m going to take that as a no.” He shifted his body again so this time his arms were wrapped around her and he was still pretending to be asleep. “I am not sleeping with you, Seb.”  
    His eyes popped open as he smiled at her. “That would be fun, wouldn’t it?” He raised his eyebrows at her suggestively and then winked.  
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “Yeah, that’s not happening tonight….or any night.” Seb looked a little hurt. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Seb. I just consider us to be friends. Not friends with benefits.”  
    He thought for a moment then nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I mean, I suppose I think the same thing. I’m just so used to going home with pretty girls and them jumping into bed with me.”  
    She let out a laugh. “I’m sure they do, Seb. They probably line up to be with you.”  
    Seb thought for a moment and then smiled brightly. “Yeah, they really do.”  
    “Well, Fabio, you are more than welcome to stay here if you don’t feel like going back to the hotel. You can take the guest bedroom if you’d like. I’ll go make it up for you.”  
    “You are the best!” He exclaimed. As soon as she got up, he slumped over and sprawled out on the couch.   
    Sam quickly put new sheets onto her guest bed then grabbed another bottle of water and some tylenol for the end table. She headed back into the living room and found Seb half asleep on the couch.   
    “Do you want to sleep on the bed or the couch?”  
    “I can sleep anywhere!” He said in a muffled voice. “Just ask all of my lady friends.”  
    She rolled her eyes and scoffed loudly. “OK, let’s go, man friend.” She helped him up and led him towards the bedroom. She convinced him to lay down and she pulled the covers up over him. By the time she reached the door to leave the room, Seb was snoring loudly. Sam smiled as she shut the door behind her.


	30. Special Delivery

Sam’s alarm went off way too early the next morning. She rolled out of bed and jumped into the shower before she had to go to work. When she was done showering, she wrapped a large towel around herself and she wrapped a smaller towel around her hair and twisted it up into a turban. She walked back towards her room to put some makeup on her face while she figured out what to wear. Before she could get into her room, however, she heard a knock at her door. She glanced at the clock. It was before 7am.   
    She walked over to the door and looked out of the peephole. On the other side of the door, she could see a familiar man in a Red Sox hat. She opened her door until the chain lock was fully stretched out.  
    Chris smiled at her. “Good morning, sunshine.”  
    She hid her body behind the door. “Evans, it’s before 7 am after a night of drinking, how are you even functioning?”  
    He grinned at her, holding up the McDonald’s bag and drink carrier. “I brought you breakfast.”  
    She motioned towards the items in his hands. “Is that—“  
    “A large french vanilla iced coffee and a sausage mcmuffin with a hash brown? Hell yea it is.” He gave her an animated smile and shook the bag at her. “A little birdie gave me your order.”  
    She closed the door and undid the chain. She opened the door wider to allow Chris to come in. “You know, every time I come over here, you’re wearing fewer and fewer clothes.” He said with a lopsided grin. “Not that I’m complaining!” he thought to himself.  
    “I just have to go throw some clothes on for work.” She said, hurrying towards her bedroom. “I’ll be right back.”  
    He laughed, putting the coffee and bag onto the counter. He took out a sandwich for himself and took a sip of his coffee as he waited for Sam to reappear. He heard a toilet flush and a door open, so he assumed Sam was heading into the kitchen. He tried to act casual while he was on his phone.  
    “Aw, honey, you brought breakfast!” Seb exclaimed as he noticed Chris at the island.  
    Chris was confused. “What are you doing here?” he asked.   
    His friend smiled. “Chris, when have you known me to not go home with a beautiful woman?” he asked.   
    “True.” Chris’s smile faded. Sebastian and Samantha? He glanced down at his phone, trying to gain a clearer train of thought. He had had a wonderful time last night with Sam. In fact, he couldn’t stop thinking about her from the moment they arrived at the baseball game. Being tipsy had helped him to break the ice and make the first move. It seemed as if the feeling was mutual.   
    Sam came into the kitchen wearing a black and white striped maxi dress and black sandals. She pulled her hair into a loose braid which fell over her right shoulder. She smiled brightly at both guys. “I don’t know about you two, but I have not had that much to drink in a long time. Are you guys feeling a headache coming on as much as I am right now?”  
    Chris forced a smile. “Yeah, actually, I’ve been fighting one all morning.”  
    Samantha gave him a look of concern. “Do you want some tylenol?” she asked. “Or some water?”  
    He shook his head and stood up. “Nah, I’m ok. I think I’m going to head home, actually.”  
    “Are you sure?” she asked. “You came all this way and you didn’t even get to eat your breakfast.”  
    He shrugged it off. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He turned towards Seb. “Will I see you later for the interview?” Seb nodded and gave a thumbs up.  
    Sam walked Chris to the door. “That was so sweet of you to bring breakfast over, Chris.” she said with a warm smile. “I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well enough to stay.”  
    He shrugged his shoulders, “That’s one of the things that happens when you drink too much, I guess.”  
    She nodded in agreement, wondering if he also thought the kisses they shared were just something that happens when you drink too much. “I really do appreciate you stopping over.”  
    He gave her a small lopsided grin. “Don’t mention it.” He paused for a moment. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later. Have a good day.”  
    “Thanks.” she replied, closing the door behind him. She headed back to the kitchen and found Sebastian eating a breakfast sandwich. “That was so nice of Chris.”  
    Seb smiled. “He’s such a great human being.” He cocked his head to the side, sending Sam a pondering look. “Was I a ridiculous drunk person last night?”  
    She laughed as she took a sip of her iced coffee. “Why do you ask that?”  
    He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t remember much from last night.”  
    “You wanted to sleep with me.” She replied. “after that, you went to sleep.”  
    Seb’s eyes got wide. “Wait, after we slept together I went to sleep?”  
    She shook her head. “No, you actually fell asleep while we slept together.” She paused for effect. “You should really go get that looked at.”  
    He balled up his wrapper in his hands and threw it at her.   
    “Speaking of sleeping, did you sleep ok?” she asked.  
    Seb nodded. “Yes. Thank you so much for letting me crash here. I would have definitely made some bad decisions if I had been left to my own devices.”  
    “No problem. That’s what lady friends are for.”  
    Seb let out a cackle and then cracked a smile that showed all of his perfectly white teeth. His eyes seemed to shine and he ran his tongue over his lips. “Hey, do you have plans tomorrow?”  
    She shook her head. “Nope. None.”  
    “Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come to Comic Con. I could get you an all-access pass. It’d be fun.”  
    Her eyes got wide. “Really?” she asked. Seb nodded. “You don’t have to do that, Seb.”  
    “No, I want to. You kept me from making bad decisions last night. Besides, I wouldn’t mind having someone normal there to keep me grounded. You know, someone to talk to in between meeting fans and such.”  
    She thought about it for a moment. “Sure, I’d love to go to Comic Con.”  
    His face lit up. “Awesome! I’ll have my agent set it up.”


	31. Jumping to Conclusions

Chris shook his head as he walked back to his car. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Seb would go home with her. They were both intoxicated. How could he be upset with Seb if he knew nothing about the kisses he and Sam shared throughout the evening?   
    He drove quickly to his brother’s apartment. He had a key, so he let himself in without buzzing up. As he entered the apartment, he noisily slammed the door behind him.   
    Luckily Scott was awake when he came in, otherwise the slamming door definitely would have woken him. He was sitting at the table, clearly confused as to why his brother was there so early.   
    “Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” Scott asked. He could tell something was on Chris’ mind. His brother tended to have the same look on his face whenever he got lost in his own thoughts.   
    Chris shook his head. “No. Just got back from Sam’s apartment.”  
    “Oh yeah?” Scott was cautious with which words he used next. As he was trying to figure out what to say, his brother continued talking.  
    “Seb spent the night over there.”  
    Scott raised his eyebrows with surprise. “Really?”   
    His brother nodded, frustrated look on his face. “Yep.”   
    Scott thought for a moment. “Well, are you sure that they—“  
    Chris scoffed at the thought. “Sam was basically making out with me all night. Plus,” he sighed “this is Seb we’re talking about.”  
    His brother gave a narrow gaze. “Oh, it was Sam who was making out with you, huh? I’d put money on the fact that you were probably a participating party.”  
    Chris held up his hand. “Look, I know what I saw this morning. Two people seeming very cozy after having slept together.”  
    Scott wrinkled his brow as he took another sip of coffee. “That just does not sound like Sam at all.”


	32. Called Out

Sam headed into work and got busy with the tasks that had been backing up on her to-do list since she took a day off after painting the mural. She was proud to hear that everyone loved the updated look of The Loft. Christopher’s Haven was also abuzz with excitement from the recent visits of Captain America, Falcon, and The Winter Soldier. Sam spent part of the morning creating a collage of their visit with different photos management took.   
    While she was entering a few new reservations into the system, her phone buzzed with a text message.  
    Scott: _“Free for lunch? Need to talk to you.”_  
    She replied back with a thumbs up. Then texted the time she’d be available for lunch.   
    “Hey Sam,” a small voice said. Sam looked up to find Jacob sitting in a wheelchair in front of her.  
    “Jacob! How are you doing kiddo?” She asked with a bright smile. “I missed you yesterday!”  
    The young boy smiled. “Yeah, where were you, anyways?”  
    “I was at the Tribe/Red Sox Game with Captain America and his crew.”  
    “Really?” he asked excitedly. “That is too cool!”  
    Sam blushed, flashing back to the previous day. “Yes, it was very cool.” She took out her camera and showed him some of the photos from the previous day.   
    “Do you think they will come visit again?”  
    She shrugged. “I don’t know. They may be too busy with Comic Con this weekend. Plus, I’m not sure how long they will be in town.” She could tell that Jacob was disappointed. “Hey, you know what? I have their numbers. Want me to text them a picture of you with a sign telling them to come visit again?”  
    A sudden smile appeared across his face. “Yes!” he exclaimed. “That would be awesome.”   
    Sam grabbed a piece of paper and wrote “Mario Kart Rematch?” on it. Then she handed him the sign and had him roll his chair in front of the Christopher’s Haven sign. She took a few shots with her phone and let him choose the one he liked best. She sent it to all three in a group text along with a message saying “If you guys are looking for something to do before you leave again, my buddy Jacob had a request.”   
    Sam turned to Jacob after she sent the text. “I’ll let you know what they reply, ok?”

  
*******

  
    At 12:30, Sam headed out to a small diner on the corner of Main and Applewood, about 5 minutes from work. Since it was nice out, she decided to walk. She found Scott on his phone sitting at a table outside.   
    “Hey Scotty” Sam said with a small smile.   
    Scott forced a smile after he put down his phone. “Hey.”  
    Sam’s face fell. “What’s wrong?”  
    He shook his head, insisting that they order food first. Luckily, this place was known for fast service and a waitress quickly came and took their lunch orders. After she left, there was an awkward silence between them as Scott debated on how to address the elephant in the room.   
    “Seriously, Scott, your silence is scaring me.” She said, twirling her straw around her water glass nervously.   
    Scott sighed. “Look, when I said I wanted you and Chris to meet, I really thought you two would hit it off.”  
    “We did hit it off.” She replied. “We hit it off a lot last night.” She let out a giggle.  
    “So, you think it’s ok to ‘hit it off’ with my brother and then turn around and take another guy back to your place?”   
    Sam was caught off guard. Scott had used air quotes to emphasize ‘hit it off’, obviously not wanting to delve into that topic further at the moment.   
    “What?” she asked. “What the fuck are you talking about?” Sam’s defense mechanism of swearing only came out when she felt attacked.   
    “I don’t want you to dick around with my brother, Sam.”  
    “What the hell are you talking about, dicking around with your brother?” Her eyes started to mist over and she took a breath to try to steady herself. “Your brother was the one who cornered me in the bathroom. Yes, I kissed him back, however, I was also the one who stopped it.”  
    “How do you explain Sebastian in your apartment this morning?”  
    Her eyes narrowed. “We shared an uber car. He walked me to my door and he was clearly drunk. I let him stay in my guest bedroom ALONE since he didn’t want to go back to the hotel.” She took a sip of her water. “Last time I checked, I wasn’t dating anyone nor did I need to get permission to have someone stay at place.”  
    Scott let out a sigh, showing remorse over his verbal attack. “Look.…Chris came over my place this morning, clearly upset and hurt because he thought you slept with Sebastian.”  
    She shook her head in disbelief. “You two are clearly cut from the same cloth.” She thought long and hard before she asked her next question. “Does that even sound like me, Scott? Taking someone home who I barely know?”   
    He shook his head. “No, and I told him that.”  
    The waitress came back with their food, placing the plates down in front of each of them. They ate in silence until Sam finally spoke up.   
    “Your brother only kissed me last night because I was literally the only female around him for 8 hours. Why the fuck does he care about who I have over at my place, anyways?” She stabbed a french fry with her fork, clearly annoyed with this conversation.   
    Scott gave her a sympathetic look. “Sam.”  
    She furrowed her brow and looked at him with confusion. “What?” she spat at him.   
    Her friend sighed. “Isn’t it obvious?”  
    Sam shook her head. “No. Unless it’s just an Evans’ family trait to just make accusations about people without any evidence and then make them feel like shit.” Suddenly she wasn’t hungry anymore. She grabbed her wallet, took out a twenty dollar bill and tossed it on the table. “I gotta get back to work.”  
    “Sam” Scott pleaded, unsuccessfully. “I’m sorry.”  
    “I know. I’ll see you later.” She quickly walked back to work, hoping steam wasn’t currently coming out of her ears.  
    Scott took out his phone and immediately texted his brother. “You’re a douchebag if you think Sam slept with Sebastian. Now she’s pissed at me because I accused her of that. Thanks a lot, bro.” He let out a sigh and finished his meal.


	33. Comic-Con and a Coffee Run

The following day, Friday, Sam was excited about going to Comic Con, but not excited about the possibility of running into Chris.   
    Scott had texted her a few times the day before and Sam chose not to reply right away. She had been fuming after their conversation as she headed back into work. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed plausible that Chris really did think that Sebastian slept with Sam. Why else wouldn’t he have taken the uber to the hotel?   
    Also, she was jealous of the closeness that Scott and Chris shared. She let her mind daydream to her brother, wondering what he would say if the situation had been reversed and he was defending her.   
    Sebastian gave her instructions on where to meet him in the morning. She brought an over the shoulder bag with room for her wallet, sketchbook, snacks, and souvenirs. She chose to wear a pair of skinny jeans and a pink t shirt. She straightened her hair and left it down.   
    Seb had told her what his schedule was like during the first day of Comic Con. Basically, first was the panel, followed by photo ops and individual autograph signings.  
    Sam ended up meeting up with Seb about an hour before the convention opened and their panel started.  
    “Yay!” he exclaimed with a grin. “You made it!”  
    Sam smiled. “Of course!” she replied. “Thanks so much for inviting me.”  
    “Have you ever been to one of these things before?”  
    She shook her head. “Nope. I’m still a newbie to these comic book related things, remember?”  
    He chuckled. “That’s ok. Being around me all day will count as a crash course into the Marvel world.”  
    “So, the panel is first, right?” she asked.  
    He nodded. “Yep. I’ll text Chris and Mackie and let them know you’re here.” He pulled out his phone to text and Sam stopped him.  
    “I’m sure they’ll figure it out, Stan.” she insisted. “Besides, don’t you want to be able to look around before the panel starts?”  
    He nodded, grabbing her hand and walking around to a few of the booths in Artist’s Alley. She removed her hand and instead looped it through his arm as they walked. He pointed out items he liked and she thoroughly enjoyed looking at the different works. A body guard trailed behind them in case some fans got into the arena early.    
    Soon they were ushered over to where the panel was taking place. There was a small area with couches set up for friends and family to watch the panel on TV. Sam was the only one in the room to start, so she took out her sketchpad and began to doodle while she waited for the panel to start.   
    She felt a pair of eyes on her so she looked up. “What are you doing here?” Scott asked.  
    “Sebastian invited me,” She shrugged. “His way of paying me back for sleeping with him the other night.”  
    Scott had an apologetic look in his eyes. “Seriously, Sam, I’m so sorry.” When she didn’t reply, he sighed.   
    She knew he was sorry for how their conversation went the day before, however, she wasn’t really ready to talk about it yet.  She felt him sit down next to her and watch as she drew. He knew the only way for her to cool off after an argument was to give her some time alone.   
    “It looks good.”   
    She shrugged and continued sketching a combo of Captain America’s shield mixed with Winter Soldier’s symbol. “I’m allowed to be upset, Scott.” She said quietly but sternly, her focus on her drawing unchanged.   
    “I know,” he said softly. “I just really don’t want you to be.”   
    She looked over at him. “I hope you know me well enough that I would never lead anyone on. Especially your brother.”  
    Scott wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. “I know. I’m really sorry that I let Chris’s jealous thoughts get into my head and make me second guess you.”  
    “Jealousy was the culprit in this?” Sam asked, shooting a sideways glance up at her best friend.   
    Scott nodded. “Yeah, it definitely was.”  
    Sam felt her cheeks flush at the thought of Chris being jealous of her being with someone else. Then she shook her head, 99% positive that Scott was wrong about his brother liking her.   
    Scott checked his phone and saw he had a missed text message from Chris.  
    “Any chance you could get us some coffee before this panel starts?”  
    “Shit.” Scott said out loud, checking the time. “What time does this thing start?”  
    Sam checked her watch, “15 minutes. Why?”  
    “Chris texted me for some coffee. Want to help me get some for the guys?”  
    Sam nodded, putting her sketch pad into her bag and standing up. Scott felt a sense of relief, knowing that she was on the road to forgiving him for the misunderstanding.   
    They hurried out to one of the coffee stands, getting two trays worth of hot beverages. They hustled back to the holding area and approached the body guards near the entrance of the VIP area.   
    “We come bearing coffee for the talent,” Sam said, offering each of them a cup. They were appreciative of the gesture and allowed Sam and Scott to go into the VIP area since they had their all-access passes on.   
    In the VIP area, Mackie, Seb, and Chris were all on different couches on their phones or talking with their handlers. Mackie was on the phone with his wife while Sebastian was talking with his handler for the day. Chris, on the other hand, was staring at the floor, knee bouncing up and down rapidly.   
    Scott nudged Sam with his elbow and motioned towards his brother. “Go give him a cup.”  
    She headed over towards Chris’s couch. She sat down next to him and held out a cup of coffee. He continued staring at the patch of carpet in front of him.   
    “Chris?” she asked. “You ok?”  
    He shook his head quickly, snapping himself out of whatever thought he was stuck in. It took him a few seconds to register that Sam was sitting next to him, offering him a cup of coffee.  
    “Sam.” he said. “What are you doing here?”  
    “Trying to brighten your morning,” she said with a slight smile. “A little birdie told me you’d appreciate a cup of coffee.”  
    His expression softened and his lips curled into a smile. “Thank you.”  
    “Are you ok?” she asked him. “You seemed a little out of it just now.”  
    Chris let out a deep breath and gave her an uneasy look.   
    “Sometimes I just get lost in my own head sometimes.” He glanced up at her. “It’s hard for me to snap out of it.”  
    Suddenly, Sam could only think the times Noah would be anxiously awaiting test results. She came up with a system of getting him out of his own head which had a pretty high success rate.   
    “May I try to help?” she asked.   
    He shrugged his shoulders. “You can try.”


	34. Let Me Try

Sam put the extra cups of coffee down at her feet and turned so she was facing him. She took his hand in hers, placing her other hand on top of his. His hands were strong and slightly calloused, but felt gentle in her grasp. She squeezed it warmly.   
    “Breathe with me for a moment.” She took a deep breath and encouraged Chris to do the same. They breathed in and out together a few times before she began speaking again. “Look around the room and I want you to tell me ten things you see right now.” Chris gave an unsure look. He started looking around the room and Sam cut him off. “No, quickly. 10 things.”  
    “Couch, chair, Seb, Mackie, Scott, you, bodyguard, carpet, coffee cup, walls.” He seemed a little apprehensive.  
    “Ok” Sam said, “now, tell me something about those objects. Describe them in as much detail as possible.”  
    Chris took a deep breath. “Seb and Mackie are talking, the couch is blue and old, the chairs over there are black leather, like the ones at my place. The bodyguards also have coffee cups. The carpet here probably hasn’t been cleaned in six months and the walls could use some decoration.” He paused. “And you…”  
    “Yep- me too.” she said with an encouraging grin.  
    “You brought me coffee.”  
    She laughed out loud. “OK, so you kind of followed my rules. Now pick one of those 10 things. The one you want to talk about the most.”  
    Chris’s mouth broke into a grin. “Alright.”   
    “Got it?” she asked. He nodded. “Ok, now tell me about it but don't tell me which one you are describing.”  
    He paused before he started. “This person is super enjoyable to be around. A real goofball. Has pretty good taste in alcohol. Roots for terrible sports teams. This person has the most amazing brown eyes that I could almost get lost in. Simple brown hair that looks good on them. This person is so full of life and is always trying to help others. Oh, and pretty fucking adorable.” He winked at her with the last statement.  
    Sam grinned. “Aw, does Mackie know how you feel about him?”  
    Chris laughed out loud, hitting his thigh at the unexpected reply.   
    When the laughter subsided, her expression became more serious. “What is freaking you out about today?”   
    He shrugged. “All of these people here are wanting to have a great time with Captain America. Some paid a shitload of money to be here and meet us. What if I say something boring? What if I can’t deliver?”  
    She looked at him for a moment. Then she held up her finger as if to say “Hang on.” She fished out her phone and headphones.   
    “I want you to listen to a song, ok?”  
    He smiled and nodded. “Ok.”   
    Sam located the track and offered him the ear buds. He put them into his ears and gave her a thumbs up. She clicked the play button and a Jason Mraz song (Living in the Moment) began to flow through the ear buds.   
    Chris had never heard this song before. The voice of the singer sounded familiar, but that was as far as it went. The track itself was uplifting and reminded him of summertime. Certain lyrics stuck out (I will not waste my days/Making up all kinds of ways/To worry about all the things/That will not happen to me).   
    By the end of the song, Chris was feeling relaxed and more at ease. He removed the ear buds and handed them back to Sam. He gave her a questioning look, slightly cocking his head to the side. “How did you get so good at this?”  
    “Good at what?” she asked, wrapping her earbuds up into a knot.  
    “Calming down an anxious mess such as myself?”  
    Her mouth turned up halfway into a smile. “Let’s just say I’ve had a lot of practice.”   
    Just as Chris was about to ask her to elaborate, the panel MC came into the room. He surveyed it quickly to make sure all three were present and accounted for. “Alright, guys, let’s do this!”  
    Chris groaned slightly, not quite ready to be finishing his conversation with Sam. Nor was he one hundred percent ready to be thrown in front of thousands of people.      
    “Give ‘em hell, Cap,” Sam said. “You’re going to do great. Remember, live in the moment.”  
    He let out a deep breath, raising his eye brows as he pushed himself up off of the couch. He leaned in and paused, as if waiting for permission. After she gave the OK with a smile and a nod, his arms engulfed her. “Thanks, Sam.”


	35. Feeling It Out

The panel went smoothly and all three actors had a great time answering fan questions and talking more about their characters. A majority of the crowd seemed to be all in favor of Team Cap, so there were cheers whenever Chris answered anything. Sebastian was given plums by the MC, which he shared with his cast mates. There was a baby during the panel that kept getting held up into the light, and all three guys (Mackie especially) loved referring back to it with the phrase “Hold that baby up!”   
    After the hour long panel, the guys were escorted to their individual photo sessions. Scott hung out in Chris’s booth while Sam was with Sebastian.   
    Sam sat on a small stool while Sebastian stood on a small X on the floor. She took her phone out and took pictures of a few of the adorable pairings in some of the sessions. Sebastian had fun with the poses people asked him to do. At one point, a stuffed dog came in with someone dressed as Hawkeye. He acted like he was stealing the dog which ended up being an epic photo. One couple even got engaged! Sam loved people watching and this was the ideal place for it.   
    After the single photo ops, Sebastian and Chris had a photo op together. As they were waiting to get situated, Scott and Sam decided to walk around Artists Alley and grab some snacks at one of the stands. After they left the booth, Chris decided to test the waters for information.  
    “So, you invited Sam?” he asked, facing the camera for the test photos before fans entered the booth.   
    Sebastian let out a small smile. “Yeah, that I did. I mean, it was the least I could do, considering she let my drunk ass sleep in her spare bedroom the other night.”  
    Chris chose his next words carefully. “Are you two…involved?”  
    His friend let out a laugh. “No, not at all.” Chris felt a wave of relief splash over him as Sebastian continued talking “Not for my lack of trying. I mean, you’ve seen me after drinking.”  
    “Yeah,” Chris confirmed, “You tend to make out with almost anyone female.”  
    Sebastian shook his head, face breaking out into an embarrassed smile. “Alcohol can do that sometimes.” He cocked his head to the side slightly. “Why did you ask about Sam?”  
    Chris shrugged shyly, shaking his head as if to say “No reason.” Before they could finish their conversation, the curtain opened and fans began entering the room.


	36. Invitation

“Food!” Chris stated enthusiastically. There was finally a short 30 minute break in-between his Sebastian photo op and one with the two of them and Mackie.   
    Scott and Sam had returned from their stroll through Artist’s Alley with a few choice pieces. They also brought some sandwiches, chips, and drinks for Sebastian, Chris, and Mackie.   
    “Hopefully we found something you can eat.” Sam said. “This one was not much help.” She motioned toward Scott who held his hands up in defense.  
    “Hey, it’s not my fault that the cashier guy was adorable!”  
    “This is perfect, thanks Sam.” Sebastian assured her. “You know I invited you as a thank you and not just for you to be my personal assistant. You don’t have to fetch me food or drink.”  
    Mackie snapped at him. “Hey now! If she wants to assist, let her assist.” He took a big bite of the ham and cheese sandwich in his hand. “Good job assisting, girl.”  
    She smiled. “Thanks, Mackie.”   
    Sebastian and Mackie went over to one of the tables while Chris, Scott, and Sam sat down at their own table.  
    “Are you excited for tonight?” Scott asked Sam. She nodded enthusiastically as she ate a small handful of chips.   
    Chris swallowed his bite of sandwich and took a large sip of his drink. “What’s tonight?” he asked.  
    His brother’s eyes lit up. “Only a really awesome food truck festival and a special showing of Remember the Titans.”  
    “Food truck festival? Where?” Chris asked.  
    “Over on the main streets near Boston University’s campus.” Sam replied. “Scotty and I were going to go check it out tonight after this comic-con business is done for the evening.”  
    Chris’s eyebrows raised as his interest was peaked.   
    “What time are you done here?” Scott asked his brother.  
    “Once we are done with an autograph signing and a couple more photo ops. The whole building closes at 8 so I’m hoping to be out of here by 7:30 as long as everything runs according to schedule.”   
    Scott raised his eyebrows in delight. “You should totally come with us!”  
    Chris looked unsure. “I don’t wanna crash the party.”  
    Sam swatted that idea away with her hand. “Yeah, because hanging out with you is such a downer.”   
    Chris grinned at her as Scott continued. “This will work out great. I have a couple errands to run beforehand, so maybe you and Sam can ride together and then just meet me there.”  
    “I probably would like to shower after this.” Chris said, turning towards Sam. “Would you be willing to drive me to my place so I can get all of this” motioning towards his chest “cleaned up?”  
    Sam thought for a moment dramatically. “Yes, I believe that can be arranged.”  
    Chris grinned taking another bite of his sandwich.


	37. Quick Change

Sam spent the rest of the day wandering around the facilities with Mackie while Sebastian and Chris had autograph signings. Around 7:45 she got a text from Chris.  
     _Favorite Evans Brother: We got behind schedule. So sorry!_  
 _Sam replied: It’s just like you movie stars to make us common folk wait around for you._  
 _Favorite Evans Brother: I’ll make it up to you, I promise._  
    He sent a winking smiley face and Sam couldn’t help but smile.   
     _Sam: Are you almost ready to go? Where should I meet you?_  
 _Favorite Evans Brother: I can meet you near the green room we were in this morning. I’ll be there in 5 minutes._  
    Sam made her way to the green room and found Chris on his phone. Since he was distracted, she took out her sketch pad and turned to an empty page. She wrote “Mr. Evans” on the blank page and held it up like she was picking up someone at the airport.  
    “Mr. Evans?” she asked, looking around the room. “I’m here to pick up a certain Mr. Evans.”  
    Chris looked up from his screen and rolled his eyes, slightly embarrassed. He couldn’t stop the smile from creeping across his lips.  
    “‘Bout time.” he muttered.   
    “Hey now! I was the one waiting on you.” she replied. “You ready to go?”  
    He nodded, motioning towards the exit door. He held it open for her and allowed her to go through first. She lead him to her black Ford Edge.   
    “Sorry I didn't splurge on a limo to take you home. I hope you can adjust to traveling in a semi-normal car.”  
    “I think I’ll manage.” Chris let out a chuckle. “Thanks for being OK with stopping back at my place for me to shower.”  
    “No problem,” Sam replied, unlocking the car so they could get in. “Just let me know where I’m going.”   
    Chris directed her towards his apartment in downtown Boston. She parked on the street and followed him up to his apartment.   
    After Chris unlocked the door, he tossed his keys on a small table near the door and quickly took his shoes off. Sam followed suit, dropping her bag near her shoes in the doorway.  
    “I’ll shower super fast, I promise. I don’t want to make us late.”  
    “Take your time.” Sam insisted. “Do you have a computer I can borrow to look up the different food trucks?”  
    He nodded and disappeared into a back room, emerging while holding a laptop. “Here you go. Can I get you anything else?” Sam shook her head as she took the laptop from him. “Make yourself at home!” He hustled towards the back of the apartment and Sam heard the water turn on.  
    Sam took a seat on the couch, placing the laptop on the coffee table. She pulled out her phone to look up the list of food truck vendors and then went onto the laptop to research the menu of each one. When she realized she wouldn’t remember all of the different items at the various trucks, she got up, opened her bag and took out her sketchbook.  
    Sam was deeply in the midst of researching the food truck menus when she noticed Chris was back in the room with her. He was wearing a wife beater and a pair of jeans. He was carrying a shirt in one hand and used his other hand to dry his hair with the towel around his shoulders.   
    She glanced up at him and did a double take. “Seriously?”  
    He laughed while shrugging his shoulders. “What?”  
    She rolled her eyes. “A wife beater? After the conversation you eavesdropped in on? Just keep rubbing it in, huh?”  
    He chuckled. “Unintentional, I swear. Besides, isn’t it always you who seems to wear fewer and fewer clothing items every time I come over?”  
    She laughed. “True.” She turned back to the screen and continued scribbling information down. Chris finished drying his hair and beard and then pulled his polo shirt over his head.   
    “Better?” he asked, holding his arms out to show off his outfit choice.  
    “I don’t know if I would say that putting MORE clothing on is a better option for you, but it makes me less likely to start drooling, so it’s probably a good move.”   
    “I’ll keep that in mind.” Chris plopped down on the couch next to Sam, beginning to put on his shoes. “What looks good?” he motioned towards her sketchpad.  
    She let out a sigh. “All of it!” She finished writing down a few more notes and then turned to Chris, handing him the sketch pad. “These were my highlights.”  
    Chris let out a deep breath as he looked over her list. His eyebrows raised at the number of things written on his list. “Wow.”  
    “I know, right?!” Sam glanced at her watch. “We should get going. I’ll have to stop at the bank for some cash on the way there.”  
    “Want me to drive?” Chris asked.  
    Sam shrugged. “If you really want to, sure.” She handed him her keys. “Just be careful.”  
    “I will.” He smiled at her. “Let’s go.” 


	38. Ditched

Part of the reason Chris wanted to drive was because he liked being able to take girls out on dates. It made him feel ‘normal’. The second reason was because he knew he didn’t want Sam to get cash out of the ATM.  
    “There’s my bank.” Sam said, pointing to the ATM. “Turn right here.”  
    Chris tried to hold in his smile as he continued driving, not saying a word as he adjusted the radio and intentionally missed the turn.  
    “Hey!” she said, smacking him on the arm. “I said I needed cash. What are you doing?”  
    He shrugged. “You don’t need to stop for cash.”  
    “Yes I do. Not all of the trucks take credit cards.”  
    He glanced over at her. “I’m not letting you pay for anything tonight.”  
    She narrowed her gaze at him. “Why the hell not?”  
    “It’s the least I could do after you calmed my ass down this morning.” His grin was more prominent now. “My treat.”  
    She let out an annoyed sigh. “You Evans boys always have to get your way, don’t you?”  
    “Yep,” Chris replied.   
    They arrived at the festival and began walking around to the different trucks. Chris was enjoying how much fun Sam seemed to be having.   
    “Oh! This one!” Sam motioned towards a bright turquoise taco truck. “I’m friends with the guy who runs it!” She grabbed Chris’s hand and pulled him along behind her. “Let’s go!”  
    He let out a chuckle at her enthusiasm.   
    “Frankie!” Sam yelled over the crowd, waving at the tall African American man taking orders. He looked up and waved at her.  
    “How do you know this guy?” Chris asked skeptically.  
    “I met him through Scott.”  She looked at Chris, detecting a slight sense of jealousy in his tone. “He’s one of Scott’s special friends from a few months back.”   
    They made their way through the line up to the window.   
    “Well, if it isn’t Miss Samantha Roberts!” Frankie exclaimed with a bright smile. “How you doin’ girl?”  
    “I’m great!” She motioned towards Chris. “Have you met Scott’s brother, Chris?”  
    “No, I have not had the pleasure.” He held out his hand. “And believe me, it is a pleasure.” He outright eyed Chris up and down, not hiding his interest.  
    “Nice to meet you,” Chris said with a smile, shaking Frankie’s hand. “Sam tells me you make the best tacos in Boston.”  
    “Damn straight, I do! Let me get you two a sampler, on the house.”  
    “Thanks Frankie!” Sam exclaimed. Her friend disappeared into the truck and Chris turned to her.  
    “One of Scott’s special friends, huh?” he asked with a grin.  
    “Yep.” Sam smiled brightly. “And he thinks you’re adorable.”  
    Chris blushed. “Well, that’s nice.”  
    Frankie reappeared with a large tray of tacos. “Here you go, Sam. Enjoy!”  
    Chris and Sam continued walking around to the different trucks. Chris held the tacos from Frankie’s truck as Sam retrieved her phone. “Scott should be here soon, if he isn’t here already.”   
    Sam glanced at the screen, noticing an incoming message.   
    Scott texted Chris and Sam in a group message: _Sorry I forgot I won’t be able to make it tonight. I have that thing with that guy…You two have fun though!_   
    “That jerk.” Sam muttered.   
    “What?” Chris asked. “Did Scott text you?”  
    “He texted both of us.” She let out a sigh. “It looks like Scott has other plans tonight.” Chris let out a breath and shook his head, smiling to himself. Sam looked at him with confusion. “What?” she asked.   
    “Typical Scott move, that’s all. He totally set us up.” His eyes sparkled with delight at the fact that his brother had set them up on a date without either of them suspecting it.   
    Sam’s cheeks reddened. “I’m sorry.”  
    “Why are you apologizing?”  
    “Because…I don’t want you to be here thinking I had something to do with this. I know you were planning on coming to this thing because Scott was going to be here too. I honestly had no idea he was going to bail.”  
    Chris pondered for a moment, wondering how much he should say in reply. She looked up at him, embarrassed at the idea that he was stuck here with her against his own free will.   
    “I’ll understand if you want to go.” She replied. “I don’t like getting set up on dates without my knowledge either.”  
    “Can I let you in on a little secret?” She nodded and he continued. “I didn’t come here just because Scott was going to be here.” She gave him a questioning look. “I’m glad I have a chance to hang out with you, sober.”   
    “You mean, like, a date?” she asked.  
    He shrugged his shoulders. “That’s what most people call this type of thing. Besides, we’ve already made out, right?”   
    She smiled at him, nodding her head. “I just want to make sure you aren’t secretly wanting to run for the hills.”  
     He shook his head. “No, in fact, I feel the opposite.” He looked at the tacos in his hands. “Let’s find a spot where we can eat these.”


	39. Unexpected First Date

Chris spent the rest of the evening buying various items from Sam’s wish list. She insisted that they share things, which Chris was totally fine with. They sat at an empty picnic table and passed food items back and forth. Both of them genuinely had a great time chatting and sharing a meal together. Neither of them felt pressure to impress the other, which was nice change from most first dates.   
    “Oh my goodness.” Sam exclaimed, her mouth full of macaroni and cheese. “Try this!” She took a forkful and held it up for him.  
    He ate the bite and his eyes rolled back. “That is delicious.” he replied with an equal amount of food in his mouth.  
    Sam laughed. “I really have great taste, don’t I?”  
    Chris gave a cocky smile. “You’re on a date with this guy, so I’d have to go with yes.”   
    She let out an obnoxious laugh. “Well, we all have our lapses in judgement at some point.” She patted his arm.   
    Now it was his turn to let out a loud chuckle. “Good one.” He looked at her for a moment. “Why are you single?”  
    She started coughing, caught off guard by the comment. She took a sip of her soda. “Excuse me?” Her eyes narrowed, wondering if she actually heard him correctly.  
    “Why are you single?” he asked again, as if it were the simplest question to understand.  
    “No, I heard you, I’ve just never been asked that point blank before.”   
    He took another bite of the macaroni and cheese and waited for her response.  
    She picked up a french fry and took a bite of it, thinking about the question. “I guess I’d have to say I’m single because of two major factors. First, with working three jobs, there’s not a lot of time to go out and meet eligible guys.”   
    Chris gave a look that seemed to validate that point as being a reasonable response. “And the second reason?”  
     She shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I’ve never been the type of girl to be on the hunt for a mate. I figure it’ll happen when it’s supposed to happen.” She ate another french fry. “I’m also really cautious when getting to know people.”  
    He gave a questioning look. “What do you mean?”  
    “I don’t like to talk about myself. I’d much rather sit back and observe other people.”  
    He gave her a warm smile. “I’m the same way.”   
    She smiled back. “What about you?” she asked. “Any Hollywood starlets you have your eye on?”  
    He let out a laugh, shaking his head. “Nah. Dating in Hollywood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”  
    “I bet it’s difficult to have privacy when you’re in the spotlight all the time.”  
    He nodded, snagging a few of her french fries. “Yeah. Paparazzi really tend to ruin things.” He grabbed his drink for a quick sip. “And it’s difficult to find real people in Hollywood. So many girls try to be who they think you want them to be. Then you discover who they really are and it’s nothing like what you believed in the first place. Or they’re in it just for the chance to get their name in the papers.”  
    “That sucks.” She had genuine concern in her eyes. “I’d hate to have to sort through a ton of phony people with ill-intentions in the dating world.”  
    “Yeah.” he let out a sigh. “Luckily, I just recently met someone who seems to be genuine, so we’ll see how that goes.”  
    “Oh yeah?” she asked. “Well, I hope it works out for you two.”   
    “Me too. Unfortunately, there’s a down side to it working out with her.”  
    Sam gave a confused look. “What could be bad about it working out?”  
    “If it does work out with this girl, I know that my brother will never let me live down the fact that he was the one who set us up.”  
    She raised her eyebrows, a smile quickly spreading across her face. “Chris Evans, are you talking about me?”   
    He let out a shy smile. “Maybe.” He glanced at his watch. “What time does the movie start?”  
    “As soon as it’s dark enough. So after the sun sets.” She looked at the leftover food sitting on the table. “I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach.”   
    “Mine too.” He grinned at her. “It was all delicious though!”  
    Once they were both feeling stuffed from all of their food choices, they walked together over towards the grassy area for the movie. The sun was low in the sky, which made the clouds look like they were painted orange and purple. They found a spot under a tree which was far enough back from the crowd to be able to see and still hear the movie.   
    “So, Remember the Titans, huh?” Chris asked, motioning towards the screen.  
    “Have you seen it?” Sam asked.   
    “I think I saw it years and years ago.” He took a sip of his drink.  
    “It is one of my all time favorite movies.” She exclaimed. “I LOVE this movie!”  
    He chuckled at her. “Why do you like it so much?’  
    She shrugged, smiling. “I dunno. I guess I’m just always a sucker for the underdog.” She let out a sigh. “Isn’t that beautiful?” she asked, motioning towards the sky.   
    He let out a hum in agreement. “I love looking at sunsets.”  
    “Me too!” she agreed. “There’s something about looking at nature and seeing how much beauty can come from something not made by men.”   
    “Exactly. It can kind of catch you off guard.” His voice got quieter. “I like being able to turn off my brain every once in a while.”   
    Sam nodded and smiled at him. She took out her phone to take a picture of the sky. Then she turned to him. “I know you don’t like paparazzi but do you want to take a selfie with me?”  
    He nodded, taking her phone and positioning it in front of them. She leaned in and smiled. He took a few pictures, then suggested they do a few silly faces. “Send those to me, will you?” he asked.   
    She nodded, “Yeah, and I bet Scott would love to see them too.” She quickly selected the pictures and sent them in the group chat.  
    Scott quickly replied back. _“Well, I guess you two are getting along fine without me.”_  
    Sam read the message and then laughed out loud, holding her phone up for Chris to read the message.  
    He let out a chuckle. “He’s so self absorbed sometimes.”  
    “You think?” she asked with a laugh.  “Oh! It’s starting!” She turned towards him with a serious look on her face. “Be honest…will it bother you if I recite lines from the movie?”  
    He shook his head. “You really like this movie, huh?” She nodded, smiling big.   
    As if right on cue, Sam began quoting some of the movie lines as the characters were saying them. Chris couldn’t help but smile as she said things like “You’re overcooking my grits, coach” and “Sunshine!” in a singsongy voice.   
    “Are you comfortable?” he asked softly.  
    She shrugged. “I mean, as comfortable as one can be with a tree.”  
    “Here.” He motioned for her to sit in front of him and lean back against him.  
    “I’m going to squish you!” she replied. “Then how will you be comfortable?”  
    “I’ll survive.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “I don’t mine being your pillow.”   
    “Such a gentleman!” she exclaimed. Instead of sitting in front of him, Sam curled up under Chris’s arm, putting her head on his chest. “Lisa raised you right.”  
    “Please be sure to tell her that next time you see her!” He put his arm around her shoulders and put his hand on her arm. She put her arm which was closest to him on his thigh and Chris reached over with his other hand to run his fingers over the top of her hand. She seemed to fit perfectly into the crook of his arm. At one point his arm moved from being up on her shoulders to being behind her back. He used his fingertips to graze her hip and find the edge of her shirt. He played with it and lightly ran his fingers over her bare skin.   
    Sam bit her lip as she felt him begin to tickle her side. Chris noticed and smiled, continuing to run his fingertips over her skin.  
    The movie continued and so did Chris’s advances. About an hour into the movie, Chris tested the waters by brushing his hand up against hers. When she didn’t pull away, he kept running his fingers tips over hers.   
    When a sad part of the movie played, tears sprung from Sam’s eyes and ran down her cheeks. Chris was touched at her raw reaction. He used one finger to wipe a tear away from her cheek. She let out an embarrassed smile and quickly wiped her other tears away. When she put her hand back down, Chris slipped his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers. She looked up at him shyly, slightly squeezing his hand. He squeezed back. 


	40. Pretty Good Night

“You look pretty happy today, Evans.” Seb muttered, taking a sip of his coffee. He and Mackie had gone out the night before and partied a little too hard.   
    Chris let out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess I am.”   
    He couldn’t help but think back to the previous night with Sam. The more he learned about her, the more he wanted to keep talking to her. She laughed at his jokes while also making him laugh with her witty comments.   
    “Did you and Sam have fun last night?” Mackie asked, handing Chris a cup of coffee.   
    He took a sip and pondered how much he should share. “I guess you could say that.”

  
   _After the movie ended, Chris and Sam headed back to her car. He jumped in the drivers seat as if it was his own car. She just smiled and laughed._  
 _“Making yourself at home, huh?” she asked, giving him a half smile._  
 _He shrugged, buckling his seatbelt and adjusting the rearview mirror. “What can I say? I like to drive.”_  
 _“Fine by me,” she replied.  Sam started to mess with the radio as Chris swatted her hand away. “What?”_  
 _“Driver gets to pick the tunes.” He held out his hand. “If you want me to play something from your iPhone, hand it over. Otherwise, I get to choose the station.”_  
 _She gave him a look that seemed to question the seriousness of the situation. When he didn’t budge, she let out a sigh and handed over her phone._  
 _Chris gave a proud smile and nodded his head, showing how happy he was that he got his way. He began scrolling through her playlists._  
 _“Hm…Chill out mix….classical….hip hop…Make out mix?” his eyes sparkled. “I gotta see what’s on that one!”_  
 _Her cheeks gained a slight twinge of pink as she quickly attempted to grab her phone back. He held it out of her reach, delighted at the effect he was having on her._  
 _“I thought it was driver picks the tunes, not driver critiques the owner’s musical choices.”_  
 _He let out a laugh. “I can’t help it, Sam. You’re adorable when you get embarrassed.”_  
 _She narrowed her eyes at him, trying not to smile. “You sure do know how to lay it on thick, don’t you, Evans?”_  
 _He smiled, selecting a song from Sam’s Chill Out Mix. Jason Mraz’s guitar music began to flow through the speakers. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Sam began singing softly to the song, head back on the seat rest._  
 _“So I gather you are a fan of Jason Mraz,” he said, motioning towards the radio. “What other stuff do you like?”_  
 _She shrugged “A little of everything I guess. I have a wide variety of musical genres on my phone. It all depends on my mood.” She looked out the window._  
 _Chris gave a lopsided smile as he drove back to his place._  
 _When they arrived at his apartment building, Chris parked in a space and turned off the ignition._  
 _“Well, this is awkward.” he said softly._  
 _“Why?” she asked._  
 _“Well, this is usually the point of the evening where I walk the girl to her door.”_  
 _She smiled at him. “You want me to walk you to your door?”_  
 _He closed his eyes and gave her a small smile. “I mean, It would be the polite thing to do.”_  
 _She giggled at his reaction. “You are such a nerd.” She grabbed her bag and got out of her side of the car. “Let me make sure you get there safely. Thousands of girls and gay men would kill me if something happened to you.” She was very dramatic, acting like she was literally protecting him from possible intruders._  
 _“You seem to be the one acting like a nerd,” he playfully grabbed her sides and she scrunched back to try to avoid his advances. When they got to the front door, Sam held it open for Chris to walk through first. She also held open the elevator door to go up to the third floor. He let out a sigh of pretend annoyance. “You are ridiculous.”_  
 _“Then we truly have reversed roles, haven’t we?” she asked with a laugh as they stepped into the elevator. She felt her phone buzz and saw a message from Scott to the group message from earlier._  
 _Scott: You two better use protection tonight!_  
 _“Classy,” she said with a shake of her head._  
 _Chris gave a questioning look, so Sam held up the phone for him to see. He rolled his eyes. “That’s kind of insulting.”_  
 _“The idea that you would sleep with me is insulting?” she demanded._  
 _His eyebrows raised quickly as he realized his blunder. “No! That’s not what I meant.” he sighed. “I meant, as if I would ever NOT use protection.”_  
 _“So you invited me up to your place to sleep with you?” Sam asked._  
 _“No!” Chris said, turning red._  
 _“You don’t want to sleep with me?”_  
 _“No…That’s not what I….damnit.” He ran his hand through the back of his hair. “This is really not coming out the way I want. I’m really fucking this up, aren’t I?”_  
 _She laughed and shot him a smile, patting him on the arm. “It’s nice to know you’re human, Evans.”_  
 _The door to the elevator opened as it arrived at his floor. He motioned for her to exit first and he followed close behind her._  
 _When they arrived at his door, Chris immediately unlocked it and opened the door._  
 _“Thanks for coming out tonight, Chris. I’m sorry again that Scott set us up.”_  
 _“Are you?” he asked, “cuz, honestly, I’m not.” He moved a little closer to her._  
 _She smiled at him. “I had fun.”_  
 _“I did too.” He smiled at her. “Do you want to come in and hang out for a bit? I mean, it’s not” he stifled a yawn, “that late.”_  
 _She laughed. “You are correct that it isn’t that late. However, you had a pretty big day today and I’m guessing you get to do it all over again tomorrow.”_  
 _His expression turned guilty. “Honestly, I’m kind of not totally ready for the night to be over.”_  
 _“Trying to get me into bed, huh, Evans?” she asked, poking him in the chest._  
 _He bent his pointer finger and gently touched her chin. “That wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it?” he asked, eyes quickly darting between her eyes and her lips. He slowly bent to kiss her neck._  
 _She let out a sigh. “Chris…” she warned._  
 _“Hm?” he asked with a hum. A smile was slowly spreading across his lips._  
 _“Chris…” she repeated. “I’m not going to have sex with you tonight.”_  
 _He was mid-kiss on her neck when she heard her response. He straightened up and moved slightly away from her. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean…”_  
 _“No,” she assured him, “I just mean, I’m not really the type of girl who sleeps around.”_  
 _Chris gave an understanding nod. “I wasn’t trying to insinuate that you were.”_  
 _“Not that it’s not tempting” she quickly added with a grin. “I just don’t want to ruin my streak.”_  
 _He thought for a moment. “What are your thoughts on making out?”_  
 _She looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “I think making out is one of the best activities to do after a date.”_  
 _His eyes lit up. “Me too!”_  
 _“Should we take this inside so your neighbors don’t call the landlord and complain?”_  
 _Chris grabbed her hand and tugged her into the apartment right behind him. She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her, immediately putting one hand to her right cheek as the other hand found it’s way to her hip. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in towards her for a kiss. He nudged the door shut with his foot._

  
    “Earth to Cap!” Mackie exclaimed, waving a hand in front of Chris’s eyes.   
    He had gotten lost in his thoughts about the previous night. “Sorry.”  
    “We have another long day ahead of us,” Seb said with a sigh. “I love these things but they are exhausting.” He looked at Chris who was just smiling to himself. “What’s with you today?”  
    He shrugged, “Nothing, just in a good mood, that’s all.”   
    “Your family is coming today, right?” Mackie asked. Chris nodded in reply.   
    “You boys ready?” one of the handlers asked. They all nodded as they got up to head to the photo ops booths. Mackie and Seb exchanged glances, both noticing the obvious spring in their friend’s step. 


	41. I'm a Realist

“So?” Scott asked, impatiently.  
    “So what?” Sam asked through the phone. She was in the middle of getting ready for the day when Scott called. She knew he would, she just wasn’t expecting a call so early.   
    “You know what!” he demanded. He let out an excited chirp. “How was last night?”  
    “It was fun. Good job bailing on me.”   
    “Oh, you had to have known I was going to do that.” He sounded not the least bit guilty about his scheme.   
    “Honestly, no, I didn’t. Luckily, Chris was OK with it too.”  
    “Oh please, I knew he would be.” Scott let out a small sigh. “He won’t admit it though.”  
    Sam let out a laugh. “Admit what, exactly?”  
    “Sam? Are you really that oblivious?”  
    “I’m not oblivious, I’m just a realist, Scott.” Before he could start telling her why she was wrong, she quickly changed the subject. “So, Comic Con again today?”  
    “Yep, All the family is going to be there. You’re coming right?”  
    “Yeah, Chris told me he could get me two passes so I could bring Jacob along.”  
    “Aw, always a softie that guy. And don’t think I didn’t notice that you changed the subject. I will know details, you can’t keep them from me.”   
    She sighed. “Yeah yeah…Not that there’s much to tell.”   
    “Did you two—“  
    “No!” Sam exclaimed. “We did not sleep together. You know me better than that.” She chose to leave the part out about their make out session. She was grinning like a fool right now and thankful that Scott couldn’t see her expression.   
    “Yeah, but I know my brother.”   
    “I should get going, I have to finish getting ready then go get Jacob. He’s going to be so excited!”  
    “Alright, I’ll see you later, dear. And I’m going to get those details!”  
    “Ok, Scott.” She let out a relieved sigh as she hung up her phone. She looked in the mirror, noticing her ridiculous grin on her face. She couldn’t help but think back to the night before. She let herself daydream for a few minutes before she shook the idea of her and Chris being together out of her head. 


	42. VIP

“We have VIP passes?” Jacob asked excitedly.  
    “Yep!” Sam said with a grin. “And they are yours if you want to go. We just have to check with your parents.”  
    “They better let me go!” the little boy exclaimed. He had on a Boston Red Sox cap and a Captain America t-shirt. “This is going to be amazing!”  
    She let out a laugh as Jacob began to quickly put on his shoes. “Hey, slow down, we’ll get there, please don't hurt yourself.”  
    Jacob’s parents were touched by the gesture and agreed to let Sam take Jacob to Comic Con. They hadn’t had much time off recently with all of Jacob’s treatment, so they were looking forward to a day to themselves.   
    Sam and Jacob waved goodbye to his parents as they made their way to the parking lot.   
    “How did you score these tickets?” Jacob asked, examining the VIP card he wore around his neck.   
    She shrugged. “I’m friends with Captain America, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier, remember?”  
    The little boy gave her a suspicious look. “Friends, huh?”  
    Sam’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Is that really so hard to believe?”   
    He shook his head. “No, you’re friends with everyone.”   
    She smiled. “Yes, I try.”  
    “Are you more than friends with any of them?”  
    “Jacob’ she warned. “Listen to me when I tell you that I am just friends with them. Can’t you just take my word for it?”  
    “Yeah, I guess. This is going to be the best day ever, hanging out with all three!”  
    “Well,” she pointed out, “You did already get to hang out with them for Mario Kart, remember?”  
    “Yeah, but this is Comic Con.” He said with some sass. “Totally different.”  
****  
    “Uncle Chris!” Miles exclaimed, running up to his uncle. Chris bent down to give the little guy a hug.   
    “Hey Miles, are you excited?”  
    The little boy nodded. “Yeah! They have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stuff over there!” he motioned towards the booths on the far end of the large space.  
    “That’s awesome!” Chris’s sister, Carley, gave him a hug. “Hey sis. Glad you guys could make it!”  
    “We wouldn’t miss it,” she replied with a smile. “It’s awesome to see how far you’ve come.”   
    Chris couldn’t help but smile. HIs family was all here in his hometown and they got to see how huge this Captain America franchise had become.   
    He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah, it really is insane how huge this whole thing is now.”  
    “Are you doing alright, sweetie?” Lisa asked, voice full of concern.   
    He nodded. “Yeah, Ma, it’s all good.”   
    Scott joined the group when he arrived, nudging his brother in the arm.  
    “How nice of you to join us.” Chris said, sarcastically.  “Didn’t know if you’d have other plans.”  
    His brother shook his head. “Nah, I guess I’m free.” He hugged his sisters and mother before turning back to his older brother. “I talked to Sam this morning.”  
    “Oh yeah?” Chris asked, trying not to seem overly interested.  
    “Yep…she told me how you got tickets for Jacob to come today. That was very cool of you.”  
    “Well, what can I say, I love doing stuff for kids.”  
    “Yeah…” Scott muttered. “I’m sure it had everything to do with the kids.”   
    Suddenly Miles yelled out “Sam’s here!” He let go of his mother’s hand and ran up to Sam, who met him with open arms. She picked him up in a hug and swung him around. Chris could see her introducing her friend Jacob to Miles and they both waved Hi. Miles then grabbed Sam’s free hand and dragged her over to the area where the Evan’s family was congregated.   
    “Hey guys!” Sam said with a smile, hugging each of them. “This is my friend, Jacob. Jacob, this is Lisa, Carley, the little girl is Stella, and you remember Scott and Captain America.” Jacob gave a shy wave to everyone.   
    “Hey Jacob!” Chris said with a booming voice. “So glad you could make it with Sam.”   
    “Thanks for the tickets,” he replied. “I’ve never been to one of these things before.”  
    “What time are your obligations?” Lisa asked her eldest son.   
    Chris checked his watch. “I have photo ops at 9 and 11:30, a panel at 10:30, autograph signing at 1:45, another photo op at 3pm.”  
    “Busy day!” Carley exclaimed. “Maybe we can grab food with you at some point.” She turned to Sam’s guest. “Want to walk around with us, Jacob? I’m sure Miles would love to have a friend to look at the different Ninja Turtle stuff.”  
    Jacob grinned, looking at Sam. “Can I?”  
    She nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll catch up with you. Just stay with Miles, ok?”  
    The little boy nodded and ran up to walk with Miles and his family. Sam smiled as she watched him get to act like a typical kid for once.   
    “He seems excited.” Chris commented, laughing at the young boy’s enthusiasm.   
    “Oh yeah, he’s definitely excited.” She turned and smiled at him. “Thank you again for the tickets.”  
    He smiled at her, “It was my pleasure. I’m glad you could make it again today.”   
    “Me too.”  She felt Scott’s eyes on her. She turned towards him. “Stop staring, Scott.”  
    “I’m not staring,” he replied. “Just watching a connection take place right before my eyes.”   
    Sam rolled her eyes. “On that note, I’m going to go follow behind Miles and Jacob. I’ll see you two later.”   
    Chris watched her as she left, a smile creeping across his lips as he watched her walk away.  
    Scott’s voice took on a singsongy tone. “You like Sam!”  
    Chris punched him in the arm. “Shad-up.”   
    Scott rubbed his arm, wincing in pain, but still laughing. “Oh my god, you really do!”  
    Chris shook his head as he walked away, not saying a word.


	43. Break Time

“How are you doing, Jacob?” Sam asked, noticing her little friend’s stamina seemed to be depleting rapidly.  
    Jacob forced a smile. “I’m great…just tired.”  
    “Do you want to get going?” she asked. “I mean, you have gotten to see a bunch of stuff. We’ve done a lot of walking.”  
    The boy shook his head. “I’m not ready to leave yet. Can we just sit down for a bit?”  
    “Absolutely!”  
    Sam led him over to the greenroom area where there were chairs and sofas set up. The security guards recognized her from the previous day, so they let her right in. She thanked them and plopped down next to Jacob on one of the couches.  
    She convinced Jacob to lay down for a few minutes, assuring him they wouldn’t be missing anything if he napped for a few minutes. He was reluctant, but then let out a huge yawn. Sam took a pillow and put it on her lap, insisting he lay down with his head in her lap. She rubbed his arm while he drifted off, phone in her opposite hand.   
    Chris entered the greenroom during a break between his autograph signings. He smiled when he recognized Sam sitting on one of the couches with a little human’s head on her lap. He grabbed a bottle of Diet Coke from one of the coolers and walked it over to her.   
    “Hey.” he said softly. “Too much excitement for one day?” he motioned towards the now sleeping boy.   
    She smiled up at him as he pulled a chair over to sit next to her. “Yeah. He’s been running all over the place. Takes a lot out of him.”  
    Chris nodded. He held up the bottle. “Can I interest you in a beverage?”  
    “Sure!” she nodded. She motioned towards Jacob. “Looks like I’m not going anywhere any time soon.” She took the bottle from him. “Thanks!”  
    “You are quite welcome.” he replied. “I’m glad you two could make it today.”  
    “You’ve had quite the day,” Sam pointed out, “I bet it’s awesome having your whole family here.”  
    Chris smiled. “Yeah, I love when I can do things near home so they can come out an experience it too.” As she took a long swig of her drink, he spoke again. “I’m also really glad that you’re here.”  
    She eyed him cautiously. “Well, I’m happy to be here. This place is amazing, even during the second day of craziness.”  
    He nodded in agreement. “How long are you staying here with Jacob?”  
    She looked down at the boy sleeping on her lap. “I’m not really sure. It all depends on how he feels when he wakes up. He’s not really used to walking this much.” A smile crept across her face. “You really did a great thing today by inviting him, you know. You didn’t have to do that, but it was really nice that you did.”   
    “Well, I gotta be honest, I selfishly did it because it meant that you’d be here.”   
    She gave a shy smile. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?”  
    Chris put his hands up in defense. “Hey now, I’m just being honest.”  
    She gave him a sideways glance. “Are you like this with every girl you are getting to know?”  
    He shook his head, a slight smile crossing over his lips. “Nope, just the ones I like.”  
    She shook her head, laughing as she took another sip. “Well, I’m flattered to be one of the hundreds.”   
    Chris gave a disgusted look. “Is that what you think of me? Some kind of man whore?”  
    She grinned widely at him. “Am I that far off? I mean, you did make out with me on two separate occasions.”   
    “Hey now, you didn’t seem to object.” He couldn’t stop smiling at Sam.   
    “How could I possibly object when a gorgeous specimen like yourself wants to lock lips with me?”   
    He laughed. “Well, now I’m the one who is flattered.”  There was a slight pause in their conversation as Jacob cleared his throat.   
    Sam looked down at Jacob, who was grinning up at her. “You made out with Captain America?!”   
    “Alright now.“ She muttered in a stern tone, slightly embarrassed. “Are you wanting to leave or do you want to walk around more?”  
    Jacob sat up, looking back and forth between Chris and Sam. Chris couldn’t stop laughing at the little boy’s reaction.   
    “Jacob!” Miles exclaimed, running into the green room, interrupting their conversation. “Want to go get something to eat?” His mom was not too far behind him. She waved to her brother, who waved back.  
    “Yes, please go!” Sam exclaimed. Jacob grinned at her, holding out his hand as she fished a $20 bill out of her pocket. “Stay with Miles, ok?”  
    Jacob grinned at her as he ran to meet Miles. He whispered something in his new friend’s ear, causing Miles to turn, look at Sam and Chris, and giggle.   
    “Oh my god.” Sam muttered to herself. “That kid is out of control.”  
    Chris laughed loudly, patting her shoulder. “He’s hilarious.”  
    She turned towards him, narrowing her focus. “You know he’s going to tell everyone he knows, right?’  
    He shrugged it off. “I’m not that worried. I mean, eventually my family would find out about us.”  
    “Us?” she asked cautiously.   
    As he was about to reply, Mackie’s voice boomed out. “HEY PARTY PEOPLE!”  
    Chris let out a deep breath, knowing their moment passed. “To be continued.” He said quietly before getting to his feet. Meanwhile, Sebastian entered the green room and plopped down next to Sam on the couch.   
    “Hey lady friend.” He said with a grin. “Having fun today?”  
    “Oh yeah!” she said. “Jacob’s having a blast. He’s off with Miles getting food.” As if on cue, her stomach rumbled.   
    “Speaking of food, why don’t we go grab some for that rumbling belly of yours?”   
    “You’re going to walk out there with me?”  
    He smiled. “Yeah, I have body guards. No worries.” He stood up, offering her a hand to help her stand up. “That’s one of the benefits of not being as famous as Chris Evans over there. I can blend in better.”   
    “Yeah,” she replied, looking over at the other actors. “Chris definitely does stand out.” 


	44. Unexpected Discovery

Later that evening, Sam smiled as her phone buzzed with a new message from Chris.         

 _Favorite Evans Brother: Knock Knock_  
_Sam: Who’s there?_  
_Favorite Evans Brother: Open your door._  
_Sam: Open your door, who?_  
    A knock at her front door caught her off guard. She looked through the peep hole and saw a familiar man on the other side of her door.  
    “That was a terrible knock knock joke.” She exclaimed, opening the door and taking one of the bags from his hands.  
    He laughed, letting himself in behind her. Chris had texted her when he was done with his obligations at Comic Con, asking if Sam was free that evening. She replied back that she had no plans, so Chris suggested he swing by after he stopped at the store. He ended up bringing over beer, movies, snacks, and a few takeout menus, all which quickly took up the space on her kitchen island.  
    “Now, besides Remember the Titans, I don’t really know what types of movies you like to watch, so I called Scott for some advice.” He opened the bag and pulled out Pitch Perfect, The Avengers, Dumb and Dumber, and The Proposal.  
    “Oh, how do I choose?” she asked, holding up the Avengers. “I feel like I’d swoon the whole time with this one. Thor is pretty hot.”  
    He snatched the DVD case away from her, tossing it back into the bag. “Let’s pick something else.”  
    She laughed. “The Proposal? I mean, that has someone for both of us to swoon at.”  
    He grinned. “That’s very considerate of you.”  
    “What can I say? I’m a pretty considerate girl.”  
    Chris held up the menus. “Food choices for the evening.”  
    “What are you in the mood for?” Sam asked, glancing over the menus. When she looked up at him, he raised his eyebrows suggestively at her. She laughed, smacking him with a Chinese menu. “I meant for dinner, nerd.”  
    He laughed. “Hey now, you asked the question.”  
    “Yeah, I left myself wide open for that response, didn’t I?”  
    He nodded, smiling at her. “Let’s order something and then we can make out- I mean, watch a movie until it arrives.”  
    She blushed, biting her lower lip. She enjoyed hanging out with Chris one on one. Yes, there had been some awesome make out moments, however, she genuinely liked his personality. He was fun-loving and they had similar senses of humor.  
    “If you keep biting your lip like that, I may just say lets forget the food all together.”  
    “Ok, you horn dog.” Sam smiled at him. “Chinese?”  
    Chris nodded. She leaned on the island examining the open menu. She felt him move next to her, placing his hand on her lower back and resting his chin on her shoulder. She felt him breathe in deeply and sigh.  
    “This is nice, Sam.”  
    “What’s nice?” she asked, still reading over the menu. She tilted her head so she was leaning against his cheek. His beard tickled her cheek.  
    “Just this.” He replied, pulling her closer. “Getting to just hang out. Being alone with you.”  
    She smiled, letting out a hum in reply. “I like getting to hang out with you, too, Evans.” She passed the menu closer to him. “Now choose your food so we can get it ordered.”  
    Chris grabbed a pen and circled what he wanted. “We can split if you want.”  
    “Sounds good to me. Why don’t you pop in the movie and I’ll order this.” She pulled two beers out of the six pack he brought and put them on the counter. She grabbed the rest and put them into the fridge. He grabbed them and headed into the family room.  
    Chris could hear Sam talking to the takeout place on the phone as he put the beers down on the coffee table. As he leaned down to put in the DVD, he noticed a small photo album laying next to the player. Thinking nothing of it, he picked it up and began thumbing through it.  
    As he turned the page, he saw pictures of Sam and another guy. The words “SAM  & NOAH FOREVER” were plastered across the first page.  
    “What the hell?” he asked.


	45. It Doesn't Add Up

“Ok, thanks,” Sam replied, hanging up her phone. She walked into the family room and found Chris staring intently at the small photo album she had forgotten was left out. “Ready to watch the movie?”  
    “Who is this?” he asked.  
    “Nobody.” Sam replied softly.   
    “It’s titled Sam and Noah forever, Sam. Doesn’t seem like nobody.”  
    She reached out to take the album from him and he continued flipping. “Come on, let’s watch the movie.”  
    Chris looked at her. “Who is Noah?”  
    She narrowed her eyes at him, frustrated he wasn’t dropping the subject. “Nobody you have to worry about.”  
    “Why are you being so secretive?” he asked, starting to feel agitated. His mind was suddenly in overdrive.   
    “I don’t want to talk about him, Chris.”   
    “Wait.” he grabbed her wrist, moving her watch out of the way. “You have his name on your goddamn wrist, but he’s nobody to worry about?”  
    She snatched her hand back. “Why are you getting so upset about this?”  
    “He obviously means something to you if you branded your body with his name.”  
    Sam was quiet, tears forming at her eyes. She blinked them away. “I don’t need this right now.” she said quietly.  
    “Need what, Sam?” he demanded. “You’re being so fucking secretive.”  
    “It has nothing to do with you. Why can’t you just drop it?”  
    “What am I supposed to think?” he spat. “You have pictures of some random guy in an album you’ve obviously looked at recently and his name is on your fucking wrist.”  
    “I don’t owe you any type of explanation.”   
    “Seriously?” he demanded. “Are you being serious right now?”  
    Now Sam was the one whose blood pressure was rising. “Chris, we’ve made out two times. That hardly means you’re entitled to any type of explanation about my life.”  
    He let out a breath, shaking his head. “You know what, I came here tonight hoping to start some sort of relationship with you, officially. But apparently, you still have other baggage you need to deal with first.”  
    “You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.”  
    “You’re hung up on this guy, Noah. There’s something you’re not telling me.”  
    “I don’t want to talk about Noah. If you’re not OK with letting this go, maybe you should just leave.” Sam was quiet, eyes brimming with tears.  
    “You know what?” He said, “Maybe I should just go. Call me when you’re over this other guy, Sam.”   
    Tears fell onto Sam’s cheeks as Chris stormed out of the apartment. He slammed the door behind him. 


	46. Anger and Jealousy

Chris was fuming, feeling angry and hurt at Sam’s secrecy. He texted Scott to see if he was free. His brother replied he was at their mom’s house, so Chris headed there instead.  
    “Hey,” Scott said, noticing his brother’s pissed off demeanor. “What’s wrong?”  
    “Sam’s fucking hung up on her ex boyfriend, that’s what.”  
    His brother gave a confused look. “What?” he shook his head. “What are you talking about?”  
    “I found this album with photos of Sam with this other guy. She got mad and wouldn’t tell me anything more about it.”  
    “Sam doesn’t have any ex-boyfriends that she’s hung up on.”   
    “She branded herself with his fucking name, Scott. How am I supposed to ignore that?”  
    Scott’s eyes grew in size as he realized what Chris was talking about. “Are you talking about Noah?”  
    “Yes!” Chris threw his hands up in exasperation as he shook his head. “She said she didn’t want to talk about it. How am I supposed to start a relationship with someone who is hung up on her ex?”  
    “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Chris.”   
    At that moment, Lisa came into the room. She noticed that her sons were in an intense conversation.   
    “Where’s Sam?” she asked with a smile. “I thought you two were getting together tonight?”  
    Chris shook his head. “I was over there to hang out, then we had a disagreement.”  
    Scott let out a sigh. “Ma- Chris wants to know about Noah.”  
    Lisa’s eyes softened. “What did Sam tell you?”  
    Chris shook his head. “That was the disagreement. She doesn’t want to talk about her ex boyfriend.”  
    “Christopher,” Lisa replied. “Sit down.”  
    He shook his head, not wanting to sit down yet. He was still high on emotions. “Ma, I don’t—“  
    “Sit!” His mother’s voice was stern. This was the voice she used when she meant business so both boys knew it well. She turned towards Scott. “Go check and see if Sam’s alright, sweetie.” Scott nodded, grabbing his phone and keys, leaving the house quickly.   
    “You and Scott both know about Noah?” he asked.   
    Lisa nodded. “Yes.” Her kind eyes looked sad. “Samantha has her reasons for not wanting to talk about Noah, especially this weekend.”  
    Chris gave her a questioning look. “What do you mean?”  
    “Noah is not an ex-boyfriend of Sam’s, sweetie. Noah was her brother.”


	47. Noah

“Sam?” Scott called, knocking on her door. “You in there?”  
    He heard the deadbolt unlock and the door slowly opened. Samantha’s face was tear stained and her eyes were red. He immediately pulled her into a hug.  
    “You ok?”  
    She shook her head, allowing more tears to fall. “Why couldn’t he just drop it?”  
    “He didn’t know, Sam.” he let out a sigh. “He’ll know now though. My mom is talking to him.”  
    She let out a groan. “I wasn’t ready to tell him about Noah. Especially this weekend.”  
    “This weekend is rough every year.”  
    “Especially this year, Scott. I know Noah wouldn’t want me to be sad, but I feel so guilty being the same age that he was when he died.”  
    “But you do awesome things in his memory, remember?” He asked. “You’ll get through this.”  
    She let out a small sob. “I just miss him.”   
    “I know.” He held her a little longer before letting her go. “Let’s go drink.”  
    She let out a slight laugh. “I look like a ridiculous crying mess.”  
    “You’re beautiful, kid.” He replied with a smile, wiping a tear from her cheek.   
    She put her hands on either side of his face. “So are you, Evans.” She sighed, “Good looks must run in your family, huh?”  
    “Yeah, all of us Evans kids are attractive.”   
    Her face got serious. “What should I do about Chris?”  
    He held her again unsure of what to say.  
  
******  
    “What?” Chris asked, unsure of what information was just presented to him.  
    Lisa repeated herself. “Noah was Sam’s brother.”  
    He shook his head, tentative to reply. “What do you mean, was?”  
    She held his hand in hers. “Noah died, sweetie. Four years ago tomorrow, actually.”   
    Lisa continued. “He had cancer when he was younger. He went through many treatments, so his family moved around a lot. Samantha went from hospital to hospital while they figured out his treatments. Luckily they were able to get his cancer into remission long enough for him to go to college. Samantha’s parents moved back to Cleveland while she attended school out here in Boston. Noah got an apartment near campus and got a job in one of the offices downtown. He and Sam roomed together while she went to school. Unfortunately, the cancer came back with a vengeance and he got really sick again. It’s my understanding that he didn’t tell Sam he was sick right away because he didn’t want to worry her. This time, the treatments didn’t work. He only was able to fight for about 4 months this time.”  
    Chris was taken aback. He was convinced that Noah was an ex-boyfriend. To hear a different version threw him off.  
    “Sam met Scott about a year after Noah died. She was working at the bar trying to make enough money to keep the apartment she shared with her brother. Then she got the job at Christopher’s Haven because she wanted to help give back to a community that had helped her so much. Scott brought her here to family dinner one night and we sort of adopted her as one of our own.” Her eyes misted over as she continued talking. “She’s a very special girl, Chris. She’s been through hell and back and doesn’t let things get her down. However, the subject of her brother is often off limits.”   
    He felt his heart get stuck in his throat. He swallowed forcefully, trying to choose the right words. “Why didn’t she just tell me?”  He blinked away the tears that were forming.   
    Lisa squeezed her son’s hand. “I’m sure she would have eventually. It took her about a year to let us know her story. Sometimes we like to be seen for who we are and not just for events that have happened to us. You can understand that, right?”   
    He nodded. “Fuck, Ma. Sorry. I just- Ugh! I feel like such a jerk.” He sat thoughtfully for a moment. “Do you think she’ll forgive me?”  
    “I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to fix it, hon.”


	48. It's Different Now

Scott had stayed with Sam for an hour until she fell asleep. He snuck out undetected and headed to his apartment for the evening. When he arrived, he found Chris sitting on his couch.  
    “You scared the shit out of me, dude. I totally forgot I gave you a key.”  
    His brother forced a smile through his clearly downtrodden mood.   
    “How is she?” He asked. “I’ve texted her over and over and she hasn’t replied.”  
    “She’s sleeping, Chris. Chill.”  
    “I feel terrible.”  
    “You should.” Scott muttered. “She’s guarded for a reason, Chris.”  
    “I just thought-“  
    “What?” his brother asked. “You thought that because you’re YOU that she would just roll over and tell you everything about herself?”  
    “No!” Chris snapped. “God, Scott, I feel bad enough already. This isn’t helping.”  
    “Sorry,” his younger brother replied. “I just care about her.”  
    Chris’s eyes were full of tears. “My brain just got all twisted up and it was like I couldn’t see straight. All I could see was Sam with this other guy. All I could think about was the fact that I wasn’t in those pictures with her.”  
    “You just met her, Chris.” Scott pointed out. “Why are you so jealous?”  
    “Because I like her.” He let out a sigh. “You were right, Scott. We are a good match. Now I’m just worried I fucked it all up by getting caught up in my own assumptions.”  
    “Do you REALLY like her? Or is this just another one of your flings.”  
    Chris glared at him. “Seriously? I care about her, can’t you understand that?”  
    Scott held his hands up. “Hey, I know you have your way with some women and never call them back.”  
    He shook his head. “This time it’s different. Help me fix this, Scott. I have to fix this.”


	49. Traditions

Not a day went by in Sam’s life that she didn’t think about her brother. Today was exactly 4 years ago that Noah passed away, a depressing day for sure. She still had dreams about when they took him off of life support. She and her parents had been in the room with Noah when he passed. She was grateful for those precious months she was able to spend with him, talking about what he had hoped for in the future and how Sam would try her best to make those things happen. Even though this day, in particular, was one of the hardest for her to face, she made a habit of giving back to people with random acts of kindness in order to keep Noah’s dream alive as well as to help her keep busy. Today, being monumental in itself, was no exception.  
    Sam checked her phone the following morning and found her inbox full of unread messages.   
_10:00pm Favorite Evans Brother: Sam, I’m so sorry. Call me when you get this._  
 _10:07pm Favorite Evans Brother: I was such an asshole._  
 _10:35pm Favorite Evans Brother: Sam, please text me back._  
 _10:43pm Favorite Evans Brother: I’m truly sorry, Samantha. Please just talk to me._  
 _11:03pm Favorite Evans Brother: I wish you’d just text me back so I’d know you are OK. I should have listened to you. I’m going to make it up to you, I promise._  
  
    She sighed as she read over the messages. She wasn’t ready to talk to Chris just yet so she opted not to reply. She threw on her chuck taylor sneakers, a pair of jeans, and a white tee-shirt. She donned sunglasses and threw her hair up into a messy bun. First stop was to the local Starbucks to pick up the order she put in weeks ago.   
    She opened her door and almost tripped over a bouquet of yellow roses on her welcome mat. There was a note.   
    “Hoping to make you feel at least a tiny bit better. See you at the Haven later today- Scott”  
    She smiled, putting the bouquet inside on the small table near the door. Part of her heart skipped a beat seeing the flowers, thinking maybe they were from Chris, but then she remembered Scott liked to send things like flowers to cheer her up.   
    Sam headed over to the Starbucks coffeehouse.  
    “Pick up for Roberts,” She said to the barista. The young man smiled and motioned for her to follow him. He helped her load up the trays of baked goodies and coffee jugs into her car. She thanked him repeatedly and then headed over to the hospital.  
    When she arrived, she parked and got a rolling cart from one of the janitors. Then she headed up to the oncology wing.  
    “Well, if it isn’t Samantha Roberts,” an older nurse called to her. Her jet black hair was braided and her green scrubs stood out against her dark skin. “Has it been a year already?”  
    Sam had gotten to know this nurse along with all of the other nurses on this floor in the hospital. “Yes it has, Dorothy, hard to believe, huh?” She hugged the nurse.  
    The kind nurse smiled at her. “Definitely. How are you holding up?”  
    She smiled, thankful for the sunglasses. “I’m good. Where should I put the goodies?”  
    “Oh! In the break room. You know you don’t have to do this every year, right?”  
    Samantha waved her off. “Please. You nurses all deserve celebrations like this everyday. Plus, it’s something nice I can do in Noah’s memory. It keeps me busy today, remember?”    
    “Well, we all appreciate it, dear.” She motioned towards the break room and helped Sam unload some of the pastries.  
     *****  
    After she was done dropping off goodies at the hospital, Sam headed over to the local park. She sat on a bench with her sketchpad and drew things around her. Her thoughts swirled around, reflecting back on last night and her fight with Chris.   
    “Noah, sometimes I really wish you were here so I could get some advice.”   
    The wind blew through her hair and a cardinal flew right in front of her. She smiled, remembering the saying that if a cardinal was around, it was a loved one visiting.   
    She turned to a new page and took out her phone. She went through some of the recent pictures on her phone and found a selfie of her and Chris. She couldn’t help but smile at their goofy expressions. She started to sketch this picture onto her sketch pad. As she added more detail into Chris’s eyes, she couldn’t help but think about how nice it was to look into them. She flashed back to the kisses she shared with him as she attempted to sketch his lips. The stubble from his beard had tickled and scratched her face and neck, but he looked so dapper with it covering his noticeable features.   
    She let out a sigh as her phone alerted her to a new message.   
   _Scott: Busy? Need to talk to you._  
 _She replied back quickly: Heading to the Haven in 10. Can it wait til then?_  
 _Scott: Yeah. See you when you get here._


	50. Lights, Camera, Action

When Samantha arrived at the Haven, something was off. It was eerily quiet. Too quiet for an early Sunday afternoon.   
    “Hello?” she asked as she stepped into the empty front office.  
    She noticed a sign posted on the desk in front of her.  
    “Special Screening for Christopher’s Haven at Boston Theater 1:30pm Sunday. All are welcome!”  
    She picked up the flyer and retrieved her phone, dialing Scott’s number.   
    “Are you here?” she asked, forgoing the usual greeting. The paper rustled in her hand.  
    “No, something came up.” he replied. “I’m almost there.”  
    “This place is a ghost town.” Sam examined the sign again. “Do you know anything about this movie thing?”  
    She heard Scott cough. “What? You’re breaking up.”  
    “Scott?” she demanded. “Hello?”  
    The phone disconnected and she put her phone into her pocket. She started walking the hallways and arrived at Jacob’s room.  
    She knocked quietly and when she didn’t get an answer, she pushed the door open slowly. Inside, she found an unmade bed and an empty room. Before she turned to leave, she saw a folded piece of paper with the word SAM on the front, peeking out under a book.  
    She unfolded the note.   
    “ _Sam- Come to the movie theater for the 1:30 show. Can’t wait to see you! Love, Jacob_ ”  
    “This is weird,” she muttered out loud. Her position at the Haven allowed her to know when big events were taking place. How did she miss this getting planned?  
    She walked back up to the front of the building. She had never been inside of the Haven without anyone else there. It was sort of spooky when it was this quiet.   
    She checked her watch, noticing it was 12:45. The theater was only about a five minute drive away, so she went back to her car, noticing a white envelope on her windshield.  
    She saw it was addressed to her, so she opened it and began to read.

  
_“Sam- First of all, the word sorry won’t begin to cover how terrible I feel for accusing you of something that was so off the mark. I hope that you believe me when I get to apologize in person. My mom told me about what happened to Noah. I’m sorry I never got to a chance to meet him.  Scott told me about how you like to do something nice for people on the anniversary. I hope it’s ok that Seb, Mackie, and I want to help you out with that task this year. Head over to the movie house on main street ASAP.- Chris”_

  
    Sam found herself smiling at his words. She couldn’t continue to be mad at him. In fact, at this point, she was just afraid of the look of pity that might cross his face when he saw her next. She hated the idea of people feeling sorry for her.  
    Sam jumped into her car and drove towards the movie house. She parked to the right of it and walked towards the front, noticing Scott waiting for her out front.  
    “Sam!” he exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. “You came!”  
    “I went to the Haven and no one was there. What’s going on?”  
    “Come see.” Her friend replied, holding her hand and walking her inside.  
    When they entered the movie house, it was flooded with all of the families of Christopher’s Haven. Some were playing games in the video arcade off to the side of the theater while others were in line for refreshments.   
    “What is all this?” She asked, looking around in shock. A little boy ran up to her, excitedly.  
    “Sam! You’re here! I knew you’d be here!” Jacob exclaimed. “Isn’t this amazing? The entire theater is open just for the kids of Christopher’s Haven. Isn’t that awesome? We can eat as much popcorn and candy as we want. We get to see any movie we want! It’s all for us!”  
    “Wow!” Sam replied, still in shock. She looked at Scott who was smiling at her. “How in the world?”  
    “Chris set the whole thing up. Look.” he pointed over to the refreshment stand, noticing that Seb and Mackie were, in fact, working the counter. They were quickly filling sodas and spilling popcorn all over the place. “Somebody really wanted to show you how sorry he is.” he said softly.  
    She looked at him in shock, eyes beginning to mist over. “He rented out an entire movie house for hundreds of families with sick kids?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe he did this. It’s incredible.”   
    “Let’s go get some snacks, then we can go see a movie.”  
    Sam nodded, letting Scott take her hand. When they approached the counter, Seb and Mackie lit up.  
    “Sam!” Seb exclaimed. “Want some popcorn?”  
    “I know you want some of this candy!” Mackie exclaimed.   
    “Yes to both please.” She laughed as they scurried around grabbing random snacks. She turned to Scott. “Please tell me you’ll get a picture of these two working today. It’s too funny not to photograph.”  
    “Already done,” he assured her. She smiled brightly at him, feeling as if she was walking through a dream. Families all around her were talking and laughing. None of the kids were hooked up to machines. They got to be kids for a day.   
    “Noah would have loved this,” she said softly. “This is amazing.”  
    “I know.” Scott replied, checking his watch. “Time to head into our movie.”  
    She looked around the room, unable to locate Scott’s brother. “I haven’t seen Chris yet. Is he here?”   
    “He’s saving our seats, come on.”


	51. Amazed

As Sam entered the movie theater, she saw a few seats with “Reserved” signs on them. Scott motioned for her to have a seat in one towards the middle of the aisle. Sam gave him a questioning look since Chris was nowhere to be found.   
    “I’ll be right back.” Scott excused himself and left Sam alone in her seat. The lights dimmed and the previews began to play.  She glanced around the theater, noticing that the entire room was filled with the exception of the reserved section.   
    The lights began to go down and the screen lit up. Sam took that moment to make sure her phone was silenced. As she was putting her phone back into her purse, a preview started to play. It began with guitar music that sounded vaguely familiar to her and then the entire theater started to applaud and cheer loudly.   
    The speakers suddenly filled with the sound of a familiar voice speaking directly to the camera. “Hi Everyone. I’m Chris Evans.”  
    Sam snapped up, attention directly on the screen. Chris was on screen, wearing a t-shirt and baseball cap, speaking directly to the audience.  
    “I’m so glad you all are here today. Christopher’s Haven is such a wonderful organization. I love being able to come visit different families whenever I’m in town. You kids are the real superheroes in my eyes. You fight every day just to get better as well as stronger. Your families are constantly trying to build you up and help you to feel better. I am so blessed to be able to be a part of such an awesome organization. You kids are the ultimate super heroes.”  
    Pictures of the children who stayed at Christopher’s Haven flashed across the screen. Sam smiled as she listened to his speech. She felt Scott come sit down next to her and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen.   
    “Are you guys having fun today?” Chris asked. Some people in the crowd clapped. He asked again with more enthusiasm, “I said, are you guys having fun today?” There were far more cheers this time around and Sam couldn’t help but smile. Chris continued talking. “That’s more like it!” he exclaimed with a big toothy grin. “Well, you all should know that not only are the families and kids of Christopher’s Haven some of the best around, but the people who work at the Haven are some of the greatest people I have ever met. In fact,” he got really close to the camera, as if he was telling an intimate secret to the audience, “one Christopher’s Haven employee inspired this entire day at the movies!”  
    Sam felt her cheeks turn red and was thankful that the lights were off. Chris continued speaking, the guitar music from earlier getting louder and now it was clear which song was playing. “I don’t want to spoil who it is, exactly, since all of the people at the Haven are good friends, so I won’t say her name.” There was an “aw” from the crowd.  “However, one lesson this person taught me was that a picture can be worth a thousand words.” At that moment, photos from both the baseball game and the food festival flashed up on the screen as the chorus from “I won’t give up” by Jason Mraz played in the background. Sam’s hand went directly over her mouth, caught off guard that her face was now smiling back at her from the big screen. A good amount of people began clapping at the pictures of her on the screen.   
    Chris continued speaking to the camera. “My friends Sebastian, Anthony and I had a blast making Civil War, so I hope you all enjoy the movie today. Keep fighting the good fight, guys.”  
    The screen faded to black and a green screen appeared to signal the next preview was about to begin. She turned towards Scott’s seat and was caught off guard when she found herself face to face with Chris.  
    “Hey.” He said, clearly feeling a bit awkward. “Is it OK if I sit here?”   
    Sam felt her heart beat up into her throat, overwhelmed at the emotions she was feeling. She forced herself to nod as she attempted to figure out what to say.  Midway through the preview, she grabbed and squeezed his hand. He was caught off guard and turned to look at her. “I can’t believe you did this.” Her voice was full of admiration.  
    Chris gave her a small smile, relieved that she wasn’t giving him a dose of the silent treatment. He decided to test the waters with her, knowing things weren’t exactly back to normal. “Do you want to go somewhere to talk?”   
    Her forehead wrinkled slightly. “Could we wait until after the show to talk?” she asked. “I mean, I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about this Captain America movie from Comic Con. I was looking forward to finally getting to see it.”  
    He nodded, feeling positive that Sam hadn’t completely shut down the idea of them talking. “Afterwords sounds great.”   
    Scott, Sebastian, and Anthony filled in the seats on the other side of Samantha. She leaned past Scott to shake hands and hug Anthony and Sebastian, thanking them for their help in making the outing at the movies a success.   
    “We are just glad you decided to show up.” Anthony whispered. “We can’t wait to watch your reactions to this movie!”  
    “You aren’t going to watch me the whole time, are you?” Sam demanded.   
    Sebastian laughed to himself, flashing a smile at Sam which still managed to light up the now darkened room. “I can’t wait to see what your reaction to the helicopter scene.”   
    Scott let out a loud cackle which was poorly placed during the current preview. A few people whispered and shushed him, causing him to sink down in his chair. Sam couldn’t help but laugh.   
    As the movie began, she couldn’t help but turn to acknowledge each of the actors when they appeared on screen. She would turn and point to the screen with an excited look on her face. “Oh my gosh!” she’d whisper, “that’s you!”  
    It didn’t take long for Samatha to figure out which scene Seb was referencing. As Captain America grabbed the helicopter and held on with all of his might, Sam’s mouth dropped open as she was mesmerized by the flexing occurring on the screen in front of her. She felt a hand on her chin, pushing it up. She snapped out of her staring and glared at Scott, who along with Seb and Mackie were laughing at her reaction. She shook her head at them as they continued to imitate her reaction. Chris couldn’t help but notice their exchange and he tried his best to keep a straight face. 


	52. Can We Talk?

The lights went up in the theater once the credits began to scroll. A majority of the audience began to hoot and holler, clapping with their appreciation.   
    “So?” Sebastian asked, “What did you think?”  
    Sam’s voice was full of excitement. “Amazing!” she gushed. “Seriously, so awesome. Well worth it.”  
    Mackie grinned. “I feel kind of proud that we initiated you into Team Cap.”   
    Her eyes lit up. “I’m on Team Cap, officially?”  
    “Only if you want to be.” Chris said softly.   
    She looked up at him and smiled. “Of course I want to be on the winning team.” She was about to say something else when Scott cut her off.  
    “You’re still coming over for dinner, right?”  
    She nodded. “Of course.”   
    “Mom says dinner will be at six, but you know you can come over whenever you want.”   
    Sam checked her watch. They still had about an hour and a half before dinner started. “Ok, I may hang out at my place for a little while. I’ll be there in time for dinner though.” She stood up and began to gather her things. She then moved over to the other side of Scott to give Seb and Mackie each a hug goodbye.  
    Chris glanced at Scott who motioned for him to talk to Sam. He was blocking her way out of the aisle.  
    “Do you feel up for having company?” he asked. He really hoped this wouldn’t be awkward. “It may give us some time to talk.”  
    She gave a small smile and a nod. “Sure.”  
    They said goodbye to everyone and headed towards Sam’s car. Sam climbed into the drivers seat as Chris headed to the passenger side.  
    As he opened the door, Sam hurriedly threw things in the backseat to make room for him.   
    “Do you live in your car?” he asked. “It seems more lived in than the last time I drove it.”  
    “Yeah.” Sam said softly. “I’ve spent a lot of time driving around lately. It tends to get more cluttered when I do that.”   
    “Did you drive around a lot today?” he asked, settling into his seat.   
    She nodded as she put on her seatbelt. “Yeah. I have a few places I go to as a tradition.” She put on her playlist and put the car in drive.   
    Chris waited for her to reply, unsure of how much he should push her into a conversation. He rubbed his palms on the top of his thighs, glancing out of the window.  
    “You can ask where I went, ya know,” she pointed out, stealing a glance at him. “I promise, I won’t break down and cry right now.”  
    He let out a deep breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to put you on the spot or force you into a conversation that-”  
    “Evans, relax.” She stopped at a red light and turned to look at him. “Don’t make this weird.”   
    “My god, I really am, aren’t I? Fuckin-a.” He scrunched his forehead together in annoyance and then gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want this to be awkward.”  
    “Neither do I.” The light turned green and she continued driving. A familiar song came on through the speakers and she started singing along. “Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Was a good friend of mine…”  
    Chris watched as she sang along with the music. For someone who was experiencing the anniversary of their brother’s death, Sam seemed upbeat. He really didn’t know what to make of it and couldn’t help the look of confusion on his face.  
    She glanced at him when she realized he wasn’t singing along. “What? Don’t you like this song? It’s a classic!”  
    He couldn’t help the smile that was quickly spreading across his face. He let out a chuckle and began to sing along while patting on the tops of his thighs.   
    “There you go, Evans.” Sam said, smiling. “Rock it out!”  
    For a moment, Chris forgot all about the fight and misunderstanding they had experienced. His mind was clear and he felt happy. It had been a while since he felt this way. His brain stopped worrying about what was going to happen next or how their conversation was going to go and instead he was focusing on acting like a complete and utter fool.  
    When the song ended, Sam had a smile on her face. “That one was one of our favorites. We always rocked out to it on road trips.”  
    Chris’s mind came flooding back to what had happened at Sam’s apartment the previous evening. He had no idea what to say next without being completely awkward. Luckily, they arrived at Sam’s place a moment later. 


	53. Make Up & Out

“Can I get you anything?” Sam asked. “Something to drink? Water?”  
    Chris nodded and took a seat on her couch while he waited for her to bring their drinks over. He noticed the photo album had been moved.   
    Sam curled up at the opposite end of the couch from her guest after she handed him a water. She took a sip and then smiled nervously at him.   
    He decided to just bite the bullet. “You moved the scrapbook.”   
    She gave a halfhearted smile. “Yeah, I took it with me on my errands today.”  
    “I didn’t really get a chance to look at it yesterday.”   
    Sam took a deep breath, not really looking forward to reliving what had happened the evening before. “No, you did not.” Before Chris could say anything else, Sam got up and retrieved the book from her purse. She handed it to him before returning to her spot.   
    He began to flip through the pages slowly, unsure of what to say in this situation. Sam had moved closer to him, smiling at certain photos.  
    “That was Noah’s homecoming dance his junior year of high school.” she said, pointing to a photo of a boy in a suit with a younger version of Sam in a hooded sweatshirt.  
    “You had braces.” Chris pointed out.   
    She groaned. “Yes. 6 years of braces. Total hell.” He turned the page and saw another photo of Sam with whipped cream all over her face grinning from ear to ear next to Noah who was holding a now empty pie plate. “Oh, that’s a great look.”   
    Chris chuckled. “Some of these pictures are amazing.”  
    “I know right? I was totally a sucker for 90’s fashion.”   
    He turned the page and saw one of Sam all dressed up for her high school dance with Noah in a Boston College sweatshirt, his hair growing back but still cut short. “You look ready for a night on the town here.” Her hair had been curled and pulled up on top of her head while she wore a black and white ball gown.   
    “Oh yeah, gotta love the obligatory prom photo. Noah hated my date which made it quite awkward.”   
    Chris continued to flip through the album, finding pictures of Sam over the course of her life. At the end of the book there was a handwritten note.

  
     _Samantha- Some words of advice. 1. Always follow your heart. You have a genuine one for sure. 2. Don’t let anyone tear you down or make you feel bad for who you are. If they treat you badly, I’ll find some way to kick their asses, I promise. 3. Get a tattoo, fall in love, paint your world, make friends. 4. Do all of the great things I know you are capable of. I’ll always be with you. xoxo -Noah_

  
    His eyes teared up after reading the note and when he looked up, Sam was silently crying.  
    “Your brother seems like a great guy.”   
    She nodded, wiping her face while attempting to get a drink of water as a distraction.   
    “I wish you would have told me about him earlier.”   
    Sam shook her head. “I don’t tell just anybody my life story.”   
    “I don’t want to be just anybody, Sam.” His eyes pleaded with hers.  
    “It took me a year to tell Scott and he’s my best friend.” she pointed out. “Besides, I couldn’t take that look from you.”  
    “What look?”  
    “The look of pity people give you when they find out you have a dead brother.” She scoffed. “It never fails. You tell someone and all of a sudden I’m this broken bird they need to nurse back to health.” She chose her next words carefully. “I didn’t want that. Especially not from you, Chris.”  
    He noticed she didn’t call him Evans. This was one of the first times she had called him by his first name. “I still wish you would have told me.” he said softly. “Then maybe I wouldn’t have made such an ass out of myself.”  
    She let out a laugh. “Yeah, what was that all about?” she asked. “Are you really that insecure?”  
    Her comment kicked him right in the gut. He winced with his reply. “Yeah, I guess I am.”  
    She noticed his change in demeanor. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“  
    “No, you’re right.” he cut her off. “I really am insecure, especially when it comes to you.”         She rolled her eyes. “Will you listen to yourself? You’ve known me for what, a week?” She paused, waiting to speak, unsure of what to say next. “I just don’t know why I’d be the one to make you feel insecure. You’re Chris Fucking Evans, for Christ sake.”  
    Chris pondered his next choice of words. He really didn’t want to scare this girl off. “Samantha, I really like you.”  
    Her cheeks reddened against her will. “I like you too, Christopher, but I don’t know if I can handle this jealousy that you radiate sometimes.”   
    “I’m so sorry for being such a jackass yesterday.”  
    “Yesterday?” she asked. “What about the time you thought I slept with Sebastian?”   
    He winced, “Oh yeah.” he groaned. “I had forgotten about that one.” He let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry for all of the times I jumped to conclusions, ok?”  
    “Apology accepted as long as you stop letting your brain screw up a good thing before it’s even started.”  
    His blue eyes seemed to look right through her. He put his hand on top of hers while he brought his other hand to her cheek. “I want to see where this goes, Samantha.” He gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb.  
    She couldn’t help but get a worried look on her face. “Do you think Scott would be ok with it? I mean, have you asked him?”  
    Chris’s face filled with confusion. “Asked Scott? What?”  
    She sighed. “He’s my best friend. I wouldn’t want to risk losing him as a friend if this” she motioned between the two of them “doesn’t work out.”  
    “Already expecting us to not work out?”  He gave an injured look. “Ouch.”  
    She shook her head. “No! That’s not what I—“  
    Chris leaned in and kissed her, cutting her off. She returned the kiss, their lips matching up perfectly. He tried to pull back from her, expecting the kiss to end. However, Sam grabbed the front of his shirt to keep him close to her. He smiled in-between kisses and followed her lead. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her start to lean back onto the couch. She did not let go of his shirt so he ended up laying on top of her.   
    He held himself up on his forearms and brushed some of her hair out of her face. He couldn’t help but smile as he looked at her. “Does this mean you’re willing to give this a chance?” He leaned down and kissed her neck, this time his lips barely grazing her skin.  
    “Are you sure you want to try this? I mean, I have the capability of being a complete head case sometimes.”   
    Chris looked at her. “We can be head cases together. You know, keep each other in check.”  
    “You still need to clear it with Scott.”   
    He chuckled. “Yes ma’am.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, we still have some time before we have to head to dinner. Do you want me to get Scott’s blessing now? Or can it wait until dinner?” He leaned down and kissed her neck.   
    She squirmed underneath him. “We can wait.”  
    He smiled at her. “I was kinda hoping you’d say that.” He settled on top of her, their legs intertwined. “I’m not squishing you, am I?”  
    She shook her head. “I’m making out with Captain America, no complaints here.”  
    He laughed. “Well, then, we better get back to it, huh?”  
    She smiled and nodded leaning up to meet his lips. “Yes we should.”  
    He kissed her lightly at first, then put more passion into it. He opened his mouth and gently slid his tongue against hers. She smiled and kissed him again, this time sliding her tongue into his mouth. She gently sucked on his lower lip while they kissed, causing Chris to let out a small moan.  
    “Was that a good moan?” she asked with a giggle.  
    He didn’t reply with words and instead he crashed his mouth onto hers, passionately kissing her. He rubbed one hand down her side. His knee was in between her legs and he moved it slightly so that it was wedged at her core. This time Sam was the one who let out a moan.  
    He broke away from kissing her. “Was that a good moan for you?” he asked. She wiggled out from underneath him, standing up. Chris got worried. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to—“  
    She kissed him again. She reached out and took his hand, pulling him up next to her. “Come on.”  
    “Where are we going?” he asked holding her hand.   
    “Somewhere with more room.” she replied. She lead Chris down the hallway to her bedroom.   
    “You think we need more room, huh?” he asked her.   
    “This is more comfortable.” She sat down on the bed. “Unless you don’t want to make out in my room.”   
    He laughed. “I want to do way more than make out in your room, Sam.”  
    She blushed laying back onto one of her pillows. “How much time until we have to leave?”  
    “Half an hour, probably.” He let out a sigh. “Not enough time to do everything I want to do.”  
    “All in good time, Evans.” She said. “Besides, isn’t that enough time to do it like 3 times in a row?”   
    He scoffed at her. “Some guys you've been dating, Roberts.” He crawled onto the bed and settled onto the pillow next to her. “I don’t want to rush anything. I want our first time together to be special.”  
    “Aw, spoken like a true gentleman.” She smiled at him.   
    He reached out and pulled her towards him, putting his leg in between hers. She wrapped a leg around him and raised her eyebrows in surprise.   
    “That’s not to say I don’t want to stop making you feel good right now.” He said in a low voice. “As long as you’re ok with it.”   
    She bit her lip and nodded. She felt him move his strong thigh in between her legs and she couldn’t help but catch her breath.   
    “Let me know if you want me to stop.” he said in a whisper. “I just want to show you how much I want you.”   
    Sam leaned in and kissed him again. “I want to show you how much I want you, too, but I don’t think we have enough time for that before dinner.” She gave a small pout.  
    “Then let me take care of you.” He whispered. He leaned in, kissing her neck. He gently scraped his teeth against her skin and he sucked on her soft skin. She moaned in response, leaning into him more. She ran her fingers through his hair.   
    They both were doing everything in their power to not go too far too fast. However, they were both attracted to each other and this was the first time they had the opportunity to be alone together.   
    Sam felt Chris push his leg against her core. She moved in response, trying to get more friction at her center.   
    “Does that feel good?” he asked, getting more turned on by the minute. He continued to rub his leg against her center.   
    “Yeah.” she replied in a whisper. “Feels so good.”   
    “I’m not trying to rush anything,” he said gruffly, “but I bet you make such sexy sounds when you come.”  
    She let out a giggle. “Exactly how many women have you used that line on?”  
    “Hundreds…maybe thousands.” He cocked his eyebrows slyly. “Turned on yet?”   
    She let out a loud laugh, which caused Chris to chuckle along with her. A phone ringing interrupted them.  
    Sam reached down and pulled out her cell phone. “Oh! It’s my mom!” She rolled off the bed. “I gotta take this.”  
    He groaned as he rolled onto one of her pillows. “Did I just get cock blocked by your mom?”   
    She scrunched her nose up, smiling at him. “Hey ma.” She looked at Chris and mouthed the words “Be right back.”   
    Chris took out his phone saw a text from his brother.  
   _Scott: “Sending good vibes. ”_  
    Chris smiled and replied.   
   _Chris: “Thanks man. We felt them.”_  
 _Scott: “How’s it going? Making progress?”_  
 _Chris:  “I guess you could say that. We had a good conversation.”_  
 _Scott: “Good!”_  
 _Chris: “I really like her, man.”_  
 _Scott: “I knew you would. It’s about time you actually listened to me.”_  
    “Ok Ma. I love you too. Give dad all my love. Talk to you soon.” Sam hung up the phone.   
    Chris checked his watch. “Should we get going?”  
    She nodded. “Yep. Mama Evans awaits.”   
    He smiled, rolling off of the bed. He followed her out of the apartment. When she finished locking the door he held out his hand. “Keys?”  
    She arched her eyebrow at him. “You wanna drive?”  
    He shrugged his shoulders. “You’re gonna have to get used to it.”  
    Sam held out her keys, dropping them into his outstretched hand. “A personal chauffeur? I am not complaining.”


	54. Family Dinner

Chris pulled up to his mom’s house, putting the car into park. He saw both his sister’s vehicles were already there. No sign of Scott’s car yet.  
    “Just be sure you talk to Scott, ok?” Sam asked. “Before we take this any further.”  
    “Hey,” he said. “I promise I’ll talk to him.” He had been holding her hand on the drive over, letting go of it only to put the car into park. “His reaction will probably be priceless, to be honest.”  
    “You’re sure you really like me, right?” She asked, nervously. “I mean, I know you haven’t been around many females this week, so it’s not like I’ve had much competition. This could just be a Stockholm syndrome type of thing.”  
    He scoffed. “Samantha, now you are sounding like the insecure one.”  
    She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I just—this just seems like a dream I’m going to wake up from.”  
    He smiled, leaning in quickly to plant a kiss on her cheek. “Come on, we’d better go in.”  
    As they exited the car, Miles came running out of the house with his little sister Stella not too far behind.  
    “Uncle Chris! You’re finally here!”  
    “Hey buddy!” Chris exclaimed, leaning down to hug his nephew. He held his hand to go inside. Meanwhile, Stella toddler-ran to Sam and demanded to be picked up.  
    “Hey stranger!” Carly called from the front door. “‘bout time you got here!”  
    “Hey” Chris said with a smile. “Good to see you.”   
    Sam followed Chris inside, holding Stella in her arms. “Hey Carly.”  
    “Hey Sam!” she replied. “I see Stella has a new favorite.”  
    Sam laughed. “I just love this little girl.” Stella demanded to be put down and then grabbed Sam’s hand to lead her over to the playroom. Miles followed them, excited to get to play with Sam.  
    Chris headed into the kitchen to get a drink and his older sister followed.  
    Carly turned to her brother. “Did I just see you and Sam arrive together?”  
    Chris smiled. “Yep.” He popped a grape into his mouth from the bowl out on the counter.  
    “So, are you two—“ Carly motioned suggestively.  
    He shrugged his shoulders, grinning. “She wants me to get Scott’s blessing, but yeah. I think we are.”  
    His sister’s face lit up. “That’s amazing!” She clapped excitedly. “Scott’s going to freak out.”  
    Chris rolled his eyes. “Can’t wait for the endless ‘I told you so’s from him.” He took a sip of water. “Just don’t say anything, ok? I want to talk to him first.”  
    “Chris, honey, did you just get here?” Lisa entered the kitchen.   
    “Hey ma!” Chris leaned in to hug his mother. “Yeah, we just arrived.”  
    “We?” Lisa asked.  
    “Chris and Sam came together.” Carly pointed out.   
    Lisa smiled brightly. “Oh, you came together? That’s so nice.” Chris could tell she wanted to ask him about it, but she didn’t want to pry. “Isn’t she such a sweet girl?”  
    “Yes, ma. She really is.”   
    “Hey all!” Scott exclaimed, walking into the kitchen. “Am I the last one here?”  
    “As always, you are one to make an entrance.” Carly said with a smile.   
    Scott made his rounds to say hello to everyone.   
    “Boys, you can set the table.” Lisa said with a smile. “The girls and I will put the finishing touches on the food. Then we can feast!”  
    Chris grabbed a stack of plates and headed into the dining room, which was right next to the playroom. He could see Sam on the floor with Stella and Miles, building towers which Stella promptly knocked over. He couldn’t help but smile at her.   
    “So, did your conversation go well?” Scott asked. He folded napkins and put them out next to the plates that Chris was putting down.  
    “Yeah.” Chris smiled. “She’s good at calling me out on my shit.”  
    Scott let out a cackle. “Yeah, you need more of that in your life. Sam’s definitely good for that.”  
    They continued setting the table together, haphazardly putting silverware onto napkins and making sure they had enough places set for all of the people eating together. It was a flurry of activity as Chris debated on how to let his brother know that he wanted to date Samantha. As he was about to say something, he heard his mom call “Kids, get washed up for dinner!” His news would have to wait until after dinner.   
    “Lisa, is there anything I help you with?” Sam asked. “It all looks delicious.”  
    “Oh, sweetheart, it’s all taken care of. We are just happy to have you here for family dinner.” Lisa replied with a warm smile. “Go ahead and sit down.”  
    “Saved you a seat.” Chris said with a smile, motioning to the chair next to him.   
    Sam smiled at him. Scott ended up sitting across from Chris while Lisa sat at the head of the table.   
    Family dinner was one of those things you never realized you missed having until you were in the middle of it. Sam smiled as she listened to Chris’s sisters dish out food onto their kids plates as they put up a fight about what they wanted to eat. Lisa was reminding her grandkids to eat their vegetables or they couldn’t have dessert while Scott and Chris were in the middle of some kind of a conversation. This was the family Sam was grateful to have in her life.   
    “Sam,” Scott said. “You ok?”  
    She blinked away tears. “Yeah. I’m good.” She let out a laugh. “I just love family dinner.” She cleared her throat. “Noah would have loved this, that’s all.”  
    Scott smiled at her as Lisa spoke up. “We love having you here as a part of our family dinner, Samantha.” She gave a warm smile. She then turned her eyes towards her eldest son. “Speaking of which, I wasn’t going to say anything, but you owe this girl an apology for keeping her away from the last family dinner.”  
    “Ma-“ Chris argued.  
    “He doesn’t—“ Sam protested.  
    “No!” Lisa held up her finger. “Christopher, you know I love you, but sometimes you are so proud it gets you into trouble.”  
    Carly and Shanna both tried to speak up to defend their brother but at this point Lisa was on a roll.       
    “Miles?” Chris asked.  
    “Yeah?”  
    “Take your sister and go play. This is gonna get loud.”  
    “Now, I was going to hold my tongue, but honestly, I think you need to realize what you have sitting right in front of you.” She motioned towards Sam. “I understand you don’t always want to listen to your brother, but he had the right idea trying to get you two together.”  
    Scott choked on his water, knowing better than to cut off his mother during one of her rants.  
    Sam’s cheeks reddened, unsure of how this conversation was going to go.  
    “Would that make you happy, Ma? If Sam and I were a couple?” Chris asked, playfully raising his voice.   
    “Yes, It would!” she replied matter-of-factly.   
    “And what about you?” he demanded of his brother. “You’ve been pushing us together for an entire week. You’d be ok with it too, wouldn’t you?”  
    Scott shrugged. “Why would I push you to date my best friend if I didn’t want you two to be together?”  
    “Fine!” Chris exclaimed. He turned and looked at Sam, “Do you wanna be my girlfriend, or what?” Sam nodded as Chris leaned in to kiss her gently on the lips. He grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers. "There, are you all happy now?”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan fiction story so kudos or comments are appreciated :)


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